Artificial intelligence sound output apparatus, hub for communication network, method of manufacturing the apparatus, and grille for the apparatus

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an artificial intelligence hub including: a main body having a speaker for outputting sound; a communication module for wirelessly communicating with a surround ding device; a base arranged below the main body to support the main body; a cover coupled to a top of the main body, the cover having an upper surface for displaying a screen based on information exchanged via the communication module; and a grille having a vertically elongated cylindrical shape and provided with a plurality of through-holes therein, the main body being arranged within the grille, the grille being coupled at an upper end thereof to the cover housing and coupled at a lower end thereof to the base.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/604,836, filed May 25, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/341,566, filed on May 25, 2016, andpriority to PCT/KR2016/007335, filed on Jul. 6, 2016, and KoreanApplication No. 10-2016-0106328, filed on Aug. 22, 2016, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for outputting sound, ahub for a communication network, a method of manufacturing theapparatus, and a grille for the apparatus.

2. Background

Various wired/wireless communications technologies may be used to form aconnection or a network to exchange data within a given space, such asan office or a home. Devices having a communication function may beconnected via the resulting data connection or network. For example,electronic appliances, such as a washing machine, a refrigerator, or anair conditioner, may be connected via wired/wireless connections to anaccess point (AP) coupled to Internet, and the appliances may access theInternet through the AP to exchange data with remote devices. Also, aterminal device, such as a smart phone, tablet computer, or personalcomputer, may share information with the appliances through the AP orvia the data connections.

Coupling an appliance to a terminal may provide limited functionalitybecause only certain types of information may be available from theappliances. For example, when connected to a refrigerator, the terminalcan typically only access limited information collected by sensorsinstalled in or coupled to the refrigerator (i.e., an internaltemperature sensor). Consequently, the terminal may have limited abilityto collect information regarding external conditions (e.g., ambientexternal temperature and humidity levels, a status of nearby devices,usage of other devices by a user, the location of the user, etc.) andoptimize the control of the appliance in view of these eternalconditions. Technology related to the Internet of Things (IoT) may beused to interconnect various devices and sensors (i.e., “things”) viawired/wireless connections to allow the things to share information. TheIoT technology adds, for example, communication and sensor functionalityto various devices so that the devices may exchange information and/orbe controlled based on the shared information.

An apparatus (i.e., a hub) may integrate and manage appliances or otherdevice within the diversified network environments and to communicatewith users based on the information from the appliances. The hub mayperform functions related to outputting sound. In these functions, thehub may store various types of sound data, such as music, recordings,notifications, and sound effects, in a digitalized form and play backand output the stored date according to appointed programs. In oneexample, a hub may include manipulation (i.e., control) buttons or otherinput mechanisms, and the hub may output an audio response when a userinput is received through the manipulation buttons.

This type of hub may typically output limited types of information. Forexample, in context of constructing a network through IoT or othernetworking technologies, the hub can output only limited audio data orother data related to the network, such as to output a beep when adevice attaches to the hub. In one example, a smart phone or otherterminal may be linked to and control the hub to improve mobility,expandability, and versatility of the hub. However, control of the hubthrough the terminal may be more cumbersome for a user in comparison todirectly contacting the manipulation buttons.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a home network system according to one exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a home network system according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a hub according to oneexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front view and a sectional view of the hub taken along lineA1-A1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6A is a right side view of the hub;

FIG. 6B illustrates cross-sections of a grille taken from respectiveportions illustrated in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the control relationship betweenmajor elements constituting the hub;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a cover;

FIG. 9 illustrates the cover after the removal of a window;

FIG. 10A is a perspective view illustrating the upper surface of awindow support;

FIG. 10B is a perspective view illustrating the lower surface of thewindow support;

FIG. 10C is a right side view of the window support;

FIG. 10D is a bottom view of the window support;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the cover illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12A is a sectional view taken along line B3-B3 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 12B is a sectional view taken along line A3-A3 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 12C is a sectional view taken along line C3-C3 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 12D is a sectional view taken along line D3-D3 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a right side view of the cover;

FIG. 14A is a sectional view taken along line F1-F1 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 14B is a sectional view taken along line F2-F2 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 illustrates an assembly of FIG. 9 after the removal of thewindow support;

FIG. 16 illustrates the assembly of FIG. 15 after the removal of thewindow support;

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a display PCB;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating the lower surface of thedisplay PCB;

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the cover and a volumebutton;

FIG. 20 is a plan view and a perspective view of a cover housing;

FIG. 21 is a rear view of the cover housing;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view illustrating the upper surface of a mainbody;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating the lower surface of the mainbody;

FIG. 24 illustrates a front case and a rear case;

FIG. 25 illustrates the rear surface of the main body;

FIG. 26 is a view illustrating the positions of antennas connected to aWiFi® module;

FIG. 27 is a view illustrating the position an antenna connected to aBluetooth® module and the position of an antenna connected to a Zigbee®module;

FIG. 28 is an exploded perspective view of the main body, a radiator, amain PCB, a base body, and a support rubber;

FIG. 29 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a support tab ofthe radiator;

FIG. 30 is a view illustrating the coupling structure of the main bodyand a base;

FIG. 31 is a front view of the base;

FIG. 32 is a sectional view illustrating the coupling structure of themain body, the grille and a speaker case;

FIG. 33 is a view illustrating the lower surface of the base;

FIG. 34 is an exploded perspective view of the base;

FIG. 35 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a hubaccording to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 36 illustrates a perspective view of a main shape, a flat metalpanel used to process a grille and the grille formed by etching the flatmetal panel;

FIG. 37 is an enlarged view of portion A and portion B illustrated inFIG. 36;

FIG. 38 is a perspective view, a plan view, a front view, and a rearview of the grill; and

FIG. 39 is an enlarged view of portion marked by a dotted line in FIG.38.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a network system according to one exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure. The network system may be acollection of devices used to construct a network via exchangedcommunications within a given space, such as a home, an office, or thelike. As one exemplary embodiment of such a network system, FIG. 1illustrates a home network system constructed in a home.

Referring to FIG. 1, the network system according to one exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure may include a hub 1, accessories 2,3 a and 3 b, a gateway 4, an appliance 5, and an access point (AP) 7.Hereinafter, an example of a hub 1 having a sound output function isdescribed, but in other example, hub 1 may have additional, fewer, ordifferent functions. The hub 1 may also be referred to, herein, as asound output apparatus or a sound output device. The hub 1 may alsoinclude a microphone (not illustrated) to detect sound conditions, suchas voice input from a user. The hub 1 may include a voice recognitionprogram and may use the voice recognition program to extract a commandfrom the detected voice input.

The hub 1, accessories 2, 3 a and 3 b, the gateway 4, the appliance 5,and/or the AP 7 may communicate to exchange messages and data based onwired networking technologies, such as Ethernet, or based on wirelessnetworking technologies, such as WiFi®, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, or Z-wave®.It should be appreciated, however, that various other differentnetworking and communication technologies are known and may beincorporated within the present disclosure.

Ethernet is a networking technology based on the 802.3 standards of theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Ethernet iscommonly used in wired connections for local area network (LAN) within aspace, such as a home, and is also used for wired connections on alarger scale for metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks(WAN). Ethernet commonly uses carrier sense multiple access withcollision detection (CSMA/CD) for data transmission. Hereinafter, an“Ethernet module” or “Ethernet circuitry” is defined as a component thatperforms communications based on Ethernet technology.

WiFi® is wireless communication technology based on the IEEE 802.11standards. WiFi® may be used to establish and configure wirelessnetworks, such as a personal area network (PAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN),or a wireless WAN (WWAN). WiFi® may be used to for wireless peer-to-peer(P2P) connections between devices. Hereinafter, a “WiFi® module” or“WiFi® circuitry” is defined as a component that performs wirelesscommunication based on WiFi® technology.

Bluetooth® is a wireless connection technology for establishing wirelessPANs and for wirelessly exchanging data over short distances (e.g.,within a range of 10-15 meters) using ultra high frequency (UHF) radiowaves, typically in a band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz. Hereinafter, a“Bluetooth® module” or “Bluetooth® circuitry” is defined as a componentthat performs wireless communications based on Bluetooth® technology.

ZigBee® is a wireless network technology for forming PANs and forwirelessly exchanging data over short distances based on IEEE 802.15.ZigBee® uses relatively low-powered digital radio transmissions. In oneexample, a type of ZigBee® known as Radio Frequency for ConsumerElectronics (RF4CE) may be used for the remote control of electronicdevices. Hereinafter, a “ZigBee® module” or “ZigBee® circuitry” may bedefined as a component that performs wireless communications based on aZigbee® technology.

Z-wave® is a wireless transmission protocol that uses source-routed meshnetworks, and is commonly used for home automation and sensor networks.Z-wave® uses a physical layer, a MAC layer, a transmission layer, arouting layer, and an application layer defined in the InternationalTelecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T)G.9959 standard. Z-wave® uses a frequency band around 900 MHz (e.g., 869MHz in Europe and 908 MHz in the United States) and/or frequency bandaround 2.4 GHz, and provides speeds of approximately 9.6 kbps, 40 kbpsand 200 kbps. Hereinafter, a “Z-wave® module” or “Z-wave® circuitry” isdefined as a component that performs wireless communications based on aZ-wave® technology.

Referring back to FIG. 1, accessories 2, 3A, and 3B may include variousdifferent sensors, such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, avibration sensor, a proximity sensor, and/or an infrared (IR) sensor, tocollect data regarding the network location. In other examples, theaccessories 2, 3 a and 3 b may include other types of sensors, such asan air quality sensor for detecting the composition of air within thenetwork environment, a smart plug (e.g., a sensor for detecting whetherelectrical power is being provided to appliance 5 or other device withinthe network environment), a current transformers (CT) sensor (e.g., asensor for detecting a current drawn by appliance 5 or other devicewithin the network environment), a smart temperature regulator (i.e., asensor for detecting ambient temperature conditions and identifyingwhether a climate control system is active within the networkenvironment), and a water surface sensor to detect whether moisture ispresent.

The accessories 2, 3A, and 3B may be positioned at various locationswithin the network environment. In one example, some of the accessories2, 3A, and 3B may be attached to the electronic appliance 5. Forexample, one of the accessories 2, 3A, and 3B may include a vibrationsensor and may be attached to the appliance 5. For example, theappliance 5 is a clothes washing machine, the vibration sensor may sensevibrations generated during the operation of the washing machine, andthe vibration sensor may generate and output a signal identifying astatus of the washing machine (e.g., the signal may indicate whether thewashing machine is active, and if so, may further indicate whether thewashing machine is agitating laundry or spinning the laundry).

In another example, some of the accessories 2, 3A, and 3B may beseparated from the electronic appliance 5 and may be positioned at otherlocation within the network environment. For example, an accessory 2,3A, or 3B including a motion detector (e.g. an IR motion sensor) may beattached to a wall and may be positioned to sense the opening or closingof a home door or a door on the appliance 5.

In certain examples, the accessories 2, 3A, and 3B may transmitinformation acquired by these sensors to the hub 1 via the network.Furthermore, signals for control of the sensors in the accessories 2,3A, and 3B may be transmitted from the hub 1. For example, when anaccessory 2, 3A, or 3B includes a sensor to detect a presence of a user(e.g., the above-described motion detector to sense when a house door ora door of an appliance 5 is opened), and when the user's presence is notdetected during a threshold time period, hub 1 may generate and forwarda notification to a preset terminal 6. In another example, theaccessories 2, 3A, and 3B may forward the collected sensor data directlyto the terminal 6.

In one example, some of the accessories (e.g., accessory 2) may furtherenable the remote control of the electronic appliance 5. For example,the accessory 2 may include an emitter that outputs an infrared (IR)control signal toward the electronic appliance 5, and the accessory 2may be positioned so that the electronic appliance 5 is within atransmission range of emitter. The accessory 2 may generate and outputthe control signal (i.e., the IR control signal) based on an inputcontrol signal received via a network (e.g., from hub 1 or from terminal6 through AP 7). In one example, the accessory 2 (or another ofaccessories 2, 3A, or 3B) may also include an IR sensor or receiver todetect when the IR control signal collides with and is reflected by anintervening object, such that the electronic appliance 5 does notreceive the IR control signal.

The hub 1 and the accessories 2, 3 a and 3 b may communication throughthe gateway 4 and/or the AP 7. As depicted in FIG. 1, some accessories3A may communicate directly with AP 7, while other accessories 2 and 3Bmay communicate with the AP 7 via an intermediary gateway 4. The AP 7may be a relay device for enabling wireless equipment to be connected toa network, and connects a home network to the Internet. The hub 1, theaccessory 3 b, gateway 4, and the electronic appliance 5 may beconnected to the AP 7 using a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) or awireless method (e.g., WiFi®, ZigBee®, or Z-wave®).

The gateway 4 may be function to connect devices using having differentprotocols and to enable communications therebetween, such as to connectdevices that are not compatible with WiFi® to the AP 7. Messages (orinformation) from the accessories 2 and 3 b may be transmitted to thegateway 4, and the gateway 4 may then forward the message to the hub 1via the AP 7. For example, the gateway 4 may convert a Zigbee® (orZ-wave) signal, received from the accessories 2 and 3 b, into a WiFi®signal and forward the resulting WiFi® signal to the AP 7 to beforwarded to the terminal 6 or the server 8. Similarly, messagescarrying data or instructions from the hub 1 may be forwarded to thegateway 4 via the AP 7, and the accessories 2 and 3 b may receive thesehub messages from the gateway 4. In certain exemplary embodiments, theaccessories 2, 3 a and 3 b and the hub 1 may communicate with thenetwork (e.g., via AP 7) even when the network is disconnected from theInternet (e.g., when AP 7 is disconnected from server 8 and/or terminal6).

The devices in the network may connect to the Internet via the AP 7,such as to connect to a remote computing device or server 8. Although asingle server 8 is described herein, server 8 may include a group ofcomputing device or a cloud. The server 8 may be associated, forexample, with manufacturers, vendors, and/or service provides associatedwith the hub 1, the accessories 2, 3 a and 3 b, gateway 4, and/or thehome appliance 5. The server 8 may store software and data and may, inresponse to receiving a request one of the devices in the network (e.g.,from the hub 1), forward the software and/or data to the requestingdevice via the Internet. In one example, the server 8 may collect datafrom one or more devices in the network (e.g., accessories 2, 3 a, and 3b) and may forward the collected data to another device in the network(e.g., to hub 1).

As shown in FIG. 1, the server 8 may also exchange data with a terminal6, such as a smart phone, a tablet device, a personal computer (PC) orother device that may be coupled to the server. In one example, theserver 8 and the terminal 6 may be connected through the Internet. Forexample, information transmitted from the hub 1 or the accessories 2, 3a and 3 b may be stored in the server 8, and may be transmitted from theserver 8 to the terminal 6. In addition, the server 8 may receive datafrom the terminal 6 or acquire data associated with the terminal 6(e.g., from another server), and the server 8 may then transmit theinformation to one or more devices in the network (e.g., to the hub 1 orthe accessories 2, 3 a and 3 b). In one example, the server 8 mayforward control data from the terminal 6 such that the hub 1 or theaccessories 2, 3 a and 3 b may be controlled via the mobile terminal 6.

Although terminal 6 is shown in FIG. 1 as being remote from thegeographic location associated with hub 1, accessories 2, 3 a and 3 b,gateway 4, appliance 5, and AP 7, it should be appreciated that terminal6 may be located proximate to one or more of these devices. For example,terminal 6 may be coupled to the AP 7 via a wired or wirelessconnection.

In one example, the terminal 6 may execute an application to provide agraphical user interface (GUI) to control or to access information fromthe hub 1 or the accessories 2, 3 a and 3 b. For example, the GUI interminal 6 may present data collected by sensors in accessories 2, 3 aand 3 b. In another example, functions performed by the accessories 2, 3a and 3 b may be expanded or changed by using an application installedon the terminal 6. In another example described below, the accessories2, 3 a and 3 b may be controlled by the hub 1, or information collectedby the accessories 2, 3 a and 3 b may be collected, processed, and usedby the hub 1 alone, without involvement of the terminal 6.

In certain exemplary embodiments described above, messages forwardingdata collected by sensors in the accessory 2, 3 a and 3 b may beforwarded via the network to the mobile terminal 6. An applicationinstalled in the mobile terminal 6 may analyze the received messages.For example, the application on the mobile terminal 6 may process sensorinformation regarding the opening or closing of the door or an operatingstate of the electronic appliance 5 (e.g. occurrence of the unbalance ofthe washing machine). In another example, the sensor data may beprocessed by another device (e.g., server 8), and results fromprocessing the sensor data may be forwarded to terminal 6 to determinean appropriate action. For example, the terminal 6 may output a visualnotification via a display or may output an audio notification via aspeaker when a certain sensor conditions are detected (e.g., to prompt auser to check on the appliance 5 when an abnormal operation is detected,or to check a resident condition when the opening or closing of the dooris not sensed for a long time).

FIG. 2 illustrates the home network system according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, thehome network system excludes the gateway 4, and instead, the hub 1performs the above-described functions of the gateway 4 (i.e., toconnect devices that use different communication technologies). Theaccessories 2 and 3 b may directly communicate with the hub 1. Forexample, the accessories 2 and 3 b and the hub 1 may include Zigbee®modules and may communicate with each other using ZigBee. The hub 1 maythen generate WiFi® signals based on the received Zigbee® signals fromthe accessories 2 and 3 b forward the generated WiFi® signals to AP 7 oranother device. Similarly, the hub 1 may receive WiFi® signalsforwarding data and/or instructions for the accessories 2 and 3 b andmay generate Zigbee® signals forwarding the received data and/orinstructions to the accessories 2 and 3 b.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 9, the hub 1 according to one exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure may include a cover (or upperportion) 10, a main body (or interior body) 40, a grille 20, and a base(or bottom portion) 30. A bottom surface of the main body 40 may besupported by the base 30, and the cover 10 may be coupled to a topportion of the main body 40. The grille 20 may have avertically-elongated cylindrical shape, and portions of the main body 40are positioned within the cylindrical shape such that lateral sideportions of the main body 40 (i.e., portions of the main body 40 thatextend between the cover 10 and the bade 30) are covered by the grille20. In one exemplary embodiment, a portion of the main body 40 mayextend above the upper end of the grille 20 such that that this portionis of the main body 40 is externally exposed. The grille 20 may includethrough-holes 20 h that provide air passages to enable sound generatedat the main body 40 to pass through grille 20 with minimal interferenceor distortion.

A porous filter (not illustrated) may be attached to the inner surfaceof the grille 20 or otherwise be positioned between the grille 20 andthe main body 40 prevent dust or other contaminants from entering thegrille 20 through the through-holes 20 h. The filter may be formed of amaterial having fine holes, such as a piece of mesh or a nonwovenfabric. The filter may be attached to the inner surface of the grille 20using an adhesive or a piece of double-sided tape. The filter alsofunctions to block light such that speakers 43 and 44 (see FIG. 4) orother elements of the main body 40 are not externally visible throughthe through-holes 20 h. Although the through-holes 20 h are shown inonly a portion of the grille 20 in FIG. 3, it should be appreciated thatthe through-holes 20 h may be formed substantially throughout the grille20 (see, for example, FIG. 38), such that sound output from the speakers43 and 44 may uniformly spread in all directions from the hub 1 throughthe through-holes 20 h.

As shown in FIG. 8, the cover 10 may include a window 11, a windowsupport 12, a display 13, a display printed circuit board (PCB) 14, anda cover housing 15. The window 11, the window support 12, the display13, and the display PCB 14 may be positioned within an upper opening ofthe cover housing 15.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the cover housing 15 may be coupled to thetop of the main body 40. The cover housing 15 may be formed of asynthetic resin, plastic, metal, ceramic, or other material. The coverhousing 15 may have a cylindrical shape and may include a sidewall 151and a partition 152 that extends from the inner surface of the sidewall151 to divide the inside of the sidewall 151 into upper and lowerregions. An upper end of the sidewall 151 defines an opening 15 h formedin the upper surface of the cover housing 15. The display PCB 14, thedisplay 13, the window support 12, and the window 11 may be disposed onthe partition 152 (see FIGS. 19 and 20 with regard to a detailedconfiguration of the cover housing 15).

A lower end 151 a of the sidewall 151 may abut an upper end of thegrille 20, and a fine gap may be present between the sidewall 151 andthe grille 20 to provide manufacturing tolerance. Despite the gap, theouter surface of the sidewall 151 and the outer surface of the grille 20may combine to define a substantially continuous outer contour in theupper portion of hub 1.

An upper-end holding portion 153 may extends downward from the lower end151 a of the sidewall 151 and may contact a rear surface of an upperportion of the grille 20. The upper-end holding portion 153 and thegrille 20 may be coupled without using separate fastening members, suchas bolts. Instead, the upper-end holding portion 153 is inserted (orfitted) into an interior space of an opening in the upper end of thegrille 20. This coupling may be realized via interference-fit using theelasticity and the restoring force of the grille 20 or the upper-endholding portion 153. For example, a circumference of an interior surfaceof the grille 20 may be slightly smaller than a circumference anexternal portion of the upper-end holding portion 153 such that thegrille 20, when positioned over the upper-end holding portion 153,applies a compression force against the upper-end holding portion 153.

The upper-end holding portion 153 may be located inside the lower end ofthe sidewall 151 (e.g, the outer surface of the cover housing 15 may beindented from the lower end 151 a of the sidewall 151 to thereby formthe outer surface of the upper-end holding portion 153). As such, thelower end of the sidewall 151 may be provided with a surface 157 thatextends from the outer surface of the sidewall 151 to the upper-endholding portion 153 so as to be positioned opposite the upper end of thegrille 20.

The cover housing 15 may include a protrusion 154, which protrudes fromthe inner surface of the sidewall 151, and the main body 40 may includea protrusion insertion groove 418. The protrusion 154 may be insertedinto the protrusion insertion groove 418 to couple the cover housing 15and the main body 40. The protrusion 154 may be prevented from beingremoved from the protrusion insertion groove 418 by the elasticity ofthe cover housing 15.

The upper end of the grille 20 may maintains its cylinder shape becausethe outer surface of the upper-end holding portion 153 may contact theinner surface of the grille 20 to prevent the upper end of the grille 20from being unintentionally deformed. For example, the grille 20 may beformed of a thin sheet of a deformable material, such as a metal, butthe upper end of the grille 20 is internally supported by the upper-endholding portion 153 and may hold a shape of exterior surface of theupper-end holding portion 153.

The cylindrical grille 20 is initially manufactured (i.e., beforeinsertion onto the upper-end holding portion 153) by rolling a metalpanel so as to form a substantially circular cross-sectional shape. Whenthe upper-end holding portion 153 has an elliptical or othernon-circular form along the lower end 151 a of the sidewall 151,insertion of the upper end of the grille 20 into the upper-end holdingportion 153 may cause the grille 20 to be deformed into a shapecorresponding to the shape of the upper-end holding portion 153 (e.g.,into an elliptical shape when the holding portion 153 has the ellipticalshape) and may remain in the deformed state. Thus, if the shape of theupper-end holding portion 153 slightly varies during manufacturing, theupper end of the grille 20 may be deform to accommodate these varianceswhile providing a reliable coupling between the upper-end holdingportion 153 and the upper end of the grille 20.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the window 11 may be formed in acircular shape with a radius r. The window 11 may be inclined in coverhousing 15 at a predetermined angle (which is designated by θ1 in FIG.6A and is hereinafter referred to as a “first angle”) relative to thehorizontal plane. In the following discussion, a vector Vh maycorrespond to a horizontal plane extending from a top surface of window11, and a normal vector Vs may project orthogonally with respect to theinclined upper surface of the window 11 (i.e., the normal Vs differsfrom vertical by the first angle θ1). The perceived shape of the window11 when viewed from above (i.e., when orthogonally projected on thehorizontal plane) is an ellipse having a short radius rcos θ1 in thefront-to-rear direction (i.e., between the highest and lowest portionsof the window 11 when positioned on in the cover housing 15) and a longradius r in the left-to-right direction (orthogonal to the front-to-reardirection along the top surface of window 11). Thus, for a unifiedexternal appearance of the hub 1, the grille 20 may have across-sectional shape corresponding to an ellipse in which the ratio ofthe short radius to the long radius is cos θ1:1). To achieve this-crosssectional shape for the upper portion of grille 20, the upper-endholding portion 153 may also have a shape corresponding to the ellipse,such that the grille 20 is deformed into the shape corresponding to theellipse of the upper-end holding portion 153 when positioned on theupper-end holding portion 153.

The inclination angle θ1 of the window 11 relative to the horizontalplane may be determined relative an expected position of user's eyesduring a typical use of the hub 1. For example, the hub 1 may beexpected to be positioned at a height of approximately 1 m duringtypical use, such as being positioned on a kitchen countertop or adining table. Based on the expected height position of the hub 1, theinclination angle (or top slope of the hub 1) may be selected so thatthe eyes of a user of typical height in front of the hub 1 arepositioned at an angle close to 90 degrees with respect to the uppersurface of the window 11. In this example, the inclination angle may beapproximately 20 degrees, without being limited thereto.

A display panel 131 may be inclined at a predetermined angle relative tothe horizontal plane so that a resulting displayed screen faces forwardand upward. The display panel 131 may be inclined similar to angle θ1 ofthe window 11. A window support plate 121, which will be describedlater, may also be inclined at a substantially same angle as the displaypanel 131 (or the window 11).

More specifically, referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the upper end of thesidewall 151 of the cover housing 15 may have a circular shape with anouter diameter L1, and the lower end 151 a of the sidewall 151 may beinclined at an angle θ2 relative to the horizontal plane (θ2 being lessthan first angle θ1, and referred to hereinafter as a “second angle”) toform a shape having a diameter La in the left-to-right direction and adiameter Lb in the front-to-rear direction. The outer surface of thesidewall 151 may be inclined at a predetermined third angle θ3 relativeto the vertical axis such that a first shape acquired by orthogonallyprojecting the cross section S1 (i.e., a top surface of glass 11) on thehorizontal plane and a second shape acquired by orthogonally projectingthe cross section S2 (i.e., at the joint between the cover housing 15and the grille 20) on the horizontal plane may not accurately coincidewith each other. However, La may be substantially close to L1 when θ3 isa relatively small angle (preferably, 5 degrees or less). It may beassumed hereinafter that La=L1. In addition, when the difference betweenθ1 and θ2 is sufficiently small (preferably, 5 degrees or less), Lb mayalso be close to L1, and thus it may also assumed hereinafter thatLb=L1.

Here, third angle θ3 is the angle between the outer surface of thesidewall 151 and the vertical axis and may vary along the periphery ofthe sidewall 151. In another example, third angle θ3 may have asubstantially constant value (i.e., remain with 10% of a particularangle) over the outer surface of the sidewall 151.

Referring to the cross sections S3 and S4 in FIG. 6B, the grille 20 mayhave an elliptical shape having a long outer diameter L1 in theleft-to-right direction and a short outer diameter L2 in thefront-to-rear direction, such that L1>L2. If it is assumed that La=L1and Lb=L1, as mentioned above, L2 may equal L1 cos θ1. Thus, the outershape of the grille 20 orthogonally when projected on the horizontalplane may be an ellipse, with a diameter L2 in the front-to-reardirection and a longer diameter L1 in the left-to-right direction. As aresult, even when the window 11 is inclined, hub 1 may have a unifiedelliptical or circular outer shape when viewed from above.

The sidewall 151 may be located above the grille 20 and may define anexternal appearance of the cover 10. The upper-end holding portion 153may be inserted into and substantially hidden by the grille 20. Thus,upper-end holding portion 153 may not influence the external appearanceof the hub 1.

A positioning protrusion 156 may protrude from the lower end of thesidewall 151, and the grille 20 may have a positioning recess 26 (seeFIG. 38) formed in the upper end thereof. The positioning protrusion 156may be inserted into positioning recess 26 (see FIG. 21) when the grille20 is install onto the upper-end holding portion 153 to correctly orientthe grille 20 relative to the cover 10.

The window 11 may be located in the opening 15 h of the cover housing15. The window 11 may be a transparent plate having a constantthickness, and the side surface (or the outer circumferential surface)of the window 11 may be orthogonal to the upper and lower surfaces ofthe window 11.

The cover housing 15 may include an inner opening-defining surface 151b, which extends downward from the upper end of the cover housing 15 andparallel to the direction that the upper surface of the window 11 faces(i.e. the direction in which the normal vector Vs extends in FIG. 6A).The inner surface portion 151 b at the upper end of the sidewall 151 maydefine the opening 15 h. The opening-defining surface 151 b may have acylindrical shape that extends along the periphery of the opening 15 h,and the window 11 may be located within the opening 15 h so as to besurrounded by the opening-defining surface 151 b. The upper end of thecover housing 15 may extend substantially to match a plane defining theupper surface of the window 11, such that the upper surface of the hub 1is a substantially smooth plane.

Furthermore, the opening-defining surface 151 b may be parallel to thevector Vs at any position. That is, even if the cover housing 15 is cutalong an arbitrary plane parallel to the vector Vs, the opening-definingsurface 151 b may remain parallel to the vector Vs in the cut crosssection. Because the opening-defining surface 151 b and the side surfaceof the window 11 remain parallel to each other, a substantially constantgap g may be maintained between the window 11 and opening-definingsurface 151 b when the center of the window 11 and the center of theopening-defining surface 151 b are aligned with each other along thevector Vs. As such, when viewing the hub 1 from above, the constant gapg may be maintained between the window 11 and the upper end of the coverhousing 15. The gap g may be set to a minimum width that allows a sidesurface of the window 11 to avoid contacting the opening-definingsurface 151 b when the window 11 is pressed, (e.g., to operate contactswitches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c and 181 d positioned under the window 11).

When the cover housing 15 is extends in an arbitrary vertical plane, theouter surface of the sidewall 151 may be parallel to the normal vectorVs, or may taper to extend gradually out farther downward from thewindow 11. When the cover housing 15 is injection-molded, the coverhousing 15 may be discharged vertically downward from a first mold toform the sidewall 151. To easily separate the cover housing 15 from thefirst mold, the outer surface of the sidewall 151 may taper inward, asdescribed above. To form the opening 15 h in the upper surface of thecover housing 15, a second mold configured to be inserted into theopening 15 h may be used. When the second mold is moved after the firstmold is removed, the cover housing 15 may be separated from the secondmold. In one example, a movement of the second mold may be in the samedirection as the normal vector Vs.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 15 to 18, the display PCB 14 may be disposed onthe upper surface of the partition 152 and under a lower side of thedisplay 13 to provide support to the display 13. The display PCB 14includes a circuit that is electrically connected to the display 13, andthe display 13 is connected to the circuit via a connector 132. Fourcontact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c and 181 d may be included on theupper surface of the PCB 14 at front and rear positions and left andright positions about the display 13.

The display PCB 14 may have a cross shape that extends forward andrearward and leftward and rightward from the center thereof when viewedfrom above. More specifically, the display PCB 14 may include a board147 provided with a circuit, and a first board arm 145, a second boardarm 146, a third board arm 147, and a fourth board arm 148, whichextend, respectively, forward, rearward, leftward, and rightward fromthe approximately center of the board 140. The board 140 has anapproximate cross shape, but the shape of the board 140 may not besymmetrical.

The board 140 of the display PCB 14 may be provided with a through-hole140 h for the passage of a support boss 122 b formed on the windowsupport 12, which will be described in other sections of the disclosure.The through-hole 140 h may be formed for example, in the first board arm145.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, a rib 152 a may be formed on the uppersurface of the partition 152 of the cover housing 15 so as to protrudefrom a portion that comes into contact with the periphery of the displayPCB 14. The rib 152 a may not have a shape corresponding to the entireperiphery of the display PCB 14, and instead, the rib 152 a may comeinto contact with a portion of the periphery of the display PCB 14. Inanother embodiment, a plurality of ribs 152 a may be formed along theperiphery of the display PCB 14. For example, the ribs 152 a may beformed on with portions that come into contact with sides of the boardarms 145, 146, 147 and 148 (i.e. sides extending outward from the centerof the board 140).

A first contact switch 181 a, a second contact switch 181 b, a thirdcontact switch 181 c and a fourth contact switch 181 d may be arrangedon the respective board arms 145, 146, 147 and 148. The contact switches181 a, 181 b, 181 c and 181 d may be electrically connected to thecircuit formed on the board 140.

In one example, a near field communication (NFC) module 540 or otherradio frequency identification (RFID) circuitry may be positioned on thedisplay PCB 14 (see FIG. 7). The NFC module 540 may enable NFCcommunication, and may be positioned on an NFC mounting portion 146 aformed on the second board arm 146. NFC is a type of radio frequencyidentification (RFID) technology and is a non-contact-type communicationtechnology that uses the frequency band of 13.56 MHz. NFC providesrelatively good security and is relatively inexpensive due to the shortcommunication distance. NFC may not require a dongle (reader) used forother types of RFID because the NFC can perform both data reading andwriting functions. NFC also does not require pairing between appliances.

The display 13 is a device for presenting an image upon receivingelectrical signals, and may be connected to the circuit of the displayPCB 14 so as to present the image in response to a control signal inputthrough the circuit. The display 13 may include a display panel 131 forgenerating the image and a connector 132 for connecting the displaypanel 131 and the circuit of the display PCB 14 (see FIG. 8). Thedisplay panel 131 may be attached to the upper surface of the displayPCB 14 using an adhesive member (e.g. a piece of double-sided tape 171(see FIG. 17)).

The display PCB 14 may be connected to a main PCB 48, which will bedescribed later, through a cable, wire, circuit line, or otherconnection (not illustrated). As such, a controller for the display 13may be mounted on any one of the display PCB 14 or the main PCB 48.Hereinafter, the display 13 will be described as being controlled by acontroller 82 (see FIG. 7) mounted on the main PCB 48, by way ofexample. A side surface of the main body 40 may include a verticallyelongated groove 429 for receiving the cable.

A variety of pieces of information may be displayed on the screen of thedisplay panel 131. The controller 82 may control the driving of thedisplay panel 131 and the general operations of electric elements in thehub 1, based on programs stored in a memory 84. A user interface (UI)may be displayed via the display panel 131. This interface is realizedvia the execution of a program.

The interface may display playback information related to content beingoutput by the speakers 43 and 44. For example, various information, suchas playback/stop/selection menus of music, playback states, the title ofa song, singer/record information, lyrics, and output volume, may bedisplayed.

When the hub 1 includes a communication module 50, the UI may displayinformation exchanged through the communication module 50. For example,the interface may display a menu for controlling the accessories 2, 3 aand 3 b, which communicate with the communication module 50, or maydisplay information processed based on the information transmitted fromthe accessories 2, 3 a and 3 b. For instance, the interface may displaythe network connection state of the communication module 50 or otherinformation, such as, for example, the temperature, humidity, andbrightness sensed by sensors provided in the accessory 2. In addition,the interface may display a menu for controlling the output of thespeakers 43 and 44. For example, the interface may display a menu forselecting a song or recording album to be output via the speakers 43 and44, information related to the recording album or song (e.g. the titleof the song, the recording album name, or the singer), or the volume ofaudio output.

The menus displayed on the interface may be manipulated via the contactswitches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c and 181 d. The processing the outputsignals of the respective contact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c and 181 dmay be determined by a program stored in the memory 84. For example,menus options displayed on the interface at left and right positions maybe selected in response to operating signals of the first and secondcontact switches 181 a and 181 b, and the menus displayed on theinterface at upper and lower positions may be selected in response tooperating signals of the third and fourth contact switches 181 c and 181d.

The user may use a Bluetooth® module 50 b to communicate with anexternal device, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, or a laptopcomputer. As such, various kinds of data, such as music and images, maybe acquired from the external device and stored in the memory 84. Inparticular, the controller 82 may control the speakers 43 and 44 so thatmusic stored in the memory 84 is output, and various functions, such asthe selection, playback, and stoppage of music, may be realized via thecontact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c and 181 d.

Referring to FIG. 18, a pair of volume adjustment switches 185 a and 185b may be provided on the lower surface of the board 140. The volumeadjustment switches 185 a and 185 b function to enable a user to adjustthe volume of the speakers 43 and 44 provided in the main body 40. Thevolume adjustment switches 185 a and 185 b may be configured asrespective contact switches, and may be connected to the circuit of thedisplay PCB 14. The volume adjustment switches 185 a and 185 b mayinclude a first volume adjustment switch (or a volume-increasing switch)185 a for increasing the volume of the speakers 43 and 44 whenever it ispushed or otherwise selected by the user, and a second volume adjustmentswitch (or a volume-decreasing switch) 185 b for decreasing the volumeof the speakers 43 and 44 whenever it is pushed or otherwise selected bythe user. The volume adjustment switches 185 a and 185 b may bedisposed, for example, on the fourth board arm 148 of the display PCB14. Operable terminals (i.e., parts to be pushed for switching) of thevolume adjustment switches 185 a and 185 b may protrude toward thesidewall 151 of the cover housing 15 to be contacted by a user.

Referring to FIGS. 19 and 20, the sidewall 151 of the cover housing 15may be provided with an opening 151 h for the installation of a volumebutton 16. The volume button 16 may include a dome 161 and an elasticpad 162. The elastic pad 162 may be formed as a single element of anelastic material, such as rubber or plastic. The elastic pad 162 may aplate form that extends a long length in the circumferential directionof the sidewall 151. The elastic pad 162 may include a support portion162 a located inside the cover housing 15, a pair of switch-operableprotrusions 162 b and 162 c protruding from the inner surface of thesupport portion 162 a, and a dome fixing protrusion 162 d protrudingfrom the outer surface of the support portion 162 a so as to be exposedoutward through the opening 151 h. The support portion 162 a may belarger than the opening 151 h and is generally not removed outward fromthe cover housing 15 through the opening 151 h.

The dome 161 may be formed of a synthetic resin, plastic, ceramic, orother material and may have has a groove formed in one surface thereofto receive the dome fixing protrusion 162 d. The dome fixing protrusion162 d may be interference-fitted into the groove to be coupled to thedome 161 by the elasticity or the restoring force of the constituentmaterial of the dome fixing protrusion 162 d. In another example, thedome 161 and the dome fixing protrusion 162 d may be coupled to eachother using an adhesive member, such as a piece of double-sided tape.

The dome 161 may include an anti-separation protrusion 161 c protrudingfrom the upper surface and/or the lower surface thereof. Theanti-separation protrusion 161 c may be located inside the cover housing15 and may contact the periphery of the opening 151 h to prevent thedome 161 from being separated from the cover housing 15 through theopening 151 h. Although FIG. 19 depicts a pair of anti-separationprotrusions 161 c formed on each of the upper surface and the lowersurface of the dome 161 in one exemplary embodiment, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto.

When the elastic pad 162 is positioned in the opening 151 h, theswitch-operable protrusions 162 b and 162 c may be located at respectivepositions corresponding to the first volume adjustment switch 185 a andthe second volume adjustment switch 185 b. When a volume-increasingmanipulation portion 161 b or a volume-decreasing manipulation portion161 b of the dome 161 is pressed, the switch-operable protrusions 162 band 162 c of the elastic pad 162 operate the volume-increasing switch185 a or the volume-decreasing switch 185 b, thereby enabling the volumeof the speakers 43 and 44 to be adjusted.

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 14, the window support 12 may have anapproximately circular shape and may be disposed above the display 13.The window support 12 may be an injection-molded component formed of asynthetic resin, plastic, or other material and, thus, formed as asingle element. The window support 12 may have an opening 12 h, suchthat the screen 131 of the display 13 is exposed through the opening 12h to present a generated image when the display 13 is positioned underthe window support 12.

The opening 12 h may be formed at a position corresponding to thedisplay panel 131, which is located below the window support 12. Theopening 12 h may be slightly smaller than the display panel 131 so thatwindow support 12 convers wires and/or circuitry located at a peripheryof the display panel 131. The screen generated on the display panel 131may be substantially visible through the opening 12 h.

The display panel 131 may have a rectangular shape in which aleft-to-right length is longer than a front-to-rear length when viewedby a user. As such, the opening 12 h may also have a corresponding shapein which the left-to-right length of the opening 12 h is longer than itsfront-to-rear length, so as to correspond to the shape of the displaypanel 131.

The window support 12 may include the window support plate 121, whichdefines the opening 12 h and supports the window 11 disposed on theupper surface thereof. The window support 12 may include manipulationprotrusions 126 a, 126 b, 126 c and 126 d and a plurality of supportbosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d, which protrude downward from thelower surface of the window support plate 121 (i.e., away from glass11).

The support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d may vertically extenddownward from the window support 12. When the window 11 in inclined, thewindow support plate 121 may also be inclined substantially at the firstangle θ1 relative to a horizontal plane to support the inclined window11. In this situation, the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 dmay not extend perpendicular to the window support plate 121 and,instead, may extend at a complementary angle 90-θ1 from the windowsupport plate 121. In other words, the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122c and 122 d may extend in a substantially vertical direction from theinclined window support plate 121.

Hereinafter, the window support plate 121, as illustrated in FIG. 9, maybe divided into a first area SE1 located at the rear side of the opening12 h, a second area SE2 located at the front side of the opening 12 h, athird area SE3 located at the left side of the opening 12 h, and afourth area SE4 located at the right side of the opening 12 h. At leastone of the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d may be providedin each of the first area SE1 and the second area SE2. To enable thewindow support plate 121 to be stably supported without shaking, thefour support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d may be formed, andamong these, the first support boss 122 a and the second support boss122 b may be located in the first area SE1, and the third support boss122 c and the fourth support boss 122 d may be located in the secondarea SE2.

The support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d may be coupled to thecover housing 15 so as to support the window support plate 121.Additionally, the window support plate 121 may be spaced apart from thedisplay PCB 14. At least one of the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 cand 122 d may pass through one of four regions, which are divided by theboard arms 145, 146, 147 and 148, to thereby be coupled to the partition152, and at least one of the other support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 cand 122 d may pass through the through-hole 140 h formed in the boardarm 145 to thereby be coupled to the partition 152.

Referring to FIG. 17, the inside of the cover housing 15 may be dividedinto four regions P1, P2, P3 and P4 by the four board arms 145, 146, 147and 148 having the cross shape. Hereinafter, the four divided regionsP1-P4 may be are ordered so that P1 is defined as a first quadrantregion, P2 is defined as a second quadrant region, P3 is defined as athird quadrant region, and P4 is defined as a fourth quadrant region.

The first support boss 122 a, the third support boss 122 c, and thefourth support boss 122 d may respectively pass through the secondquadrant region P2, the third quadrant region P3, and the fourthquadrant region P4 to thereby be coupled to the partition 152, and thesecond support boss 122 b may pass through the through-hole 140 h formedin the first board arm 145 to thereby be coupled to the partition 152.

The support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d and the partition 152of the cover housing 15 may be directly coupled such that the supportbosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d contact and are affixed are to thepartition 152. For example, the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and122 d may be coupled to insertion bosses 154 a, 154 b, 154 c and 154 dformed on the partition 152. The partition 152 of the cover housing 15may have the first insertion boss 154 a, the second insertion boss 154b, the third insertion boss 154 c, and the fourth insertion boss 154 d,which are located at positions respectively corresponding to the firstsupport boss 122 a, the second support boss 122 b, the third supportboss 122 c and the fourth support boss 122 d. The insertion bosses 154a, 154 b, 154 c and 154 d may protrude downward from the partition 152,and may extend parallel to the respective corresponding support bosses122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d.

The first support boss 122 a, the second support boss 122 b, the thirdsupport boss 122 c and the fourth support boss 122 d may be respectivelyinserted into the first insertion boss 154 a, the second insertion boss154 b, the third insertion boss 154 c and the fourth insertion boss 154d. The lower ends of the insertion bosses 154 a, 154 b, 154 c and 154 dmay include fastening holes to receive fastening bolts 19 or otherconnector. The bolts 19 may pass upward through the respective fasteningholes of the insertion bosses 154 a, 154 b, 154 c and 154 d and fastenedto the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d.

Referring to FIGS. 15 to 17, the cover housing 15 may include one ormore ribs 152 a, 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e and 152 f, which protrudeupward from the partition 152. At least one of the ribs 152 a, 152 b,152 c, 152 d, 152 e and 152 f may contact the periphery of the displaypanel 131. The display PCB 14 is positioned on the upper surface of thepartition 152 (i.e., between the partition 152 and the display panel131), the ribs 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e or 152 f may be positioned toavoid contact with the display PCB 14 and extend to support theperiphery of the display panel 131. Accordingly, the regions P1, P2, P3and P4, divided by the display PCB 14, may function as paths that passthe ribs 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e and 152 f around the display PCB 14.Thus, the ribs 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e and 152 f may pass through theregions P1, P2, P3 and P4 (divided by the board arms 145, 146, 147 and148 of the display PCB 14) to contact with the edge of the display panel131. The ribs 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e and 152 f may function toposition and secure the display panel 131.

The display panel 131 may have a rectangular shape, and at least one offour sides of the display panel 131 may come into contact with the ribs152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e and 152 f. Each of a pair of parallel sidesof the display panel 131 may come into contact with a rib. In anexemplary embodiment, the horizontal sides (or the sides extending inthe left-to-right directions) of the display panel 131 come into contactwith the ribs 152 b, 152 c and 152 d. The ribs 152 b, 152 c and 152 dmay extend a long length along the horizontal sides of the display panel131.

The ribs 152 b, 152 c and 152 d may respectively pass through differentregions among the four regions P1, P2, P3 and P4, which are divided bythe board arms 145, 146, 147 and 148. In the exemplary embodiment, therib 152 b passes through the second quadrant region P2, the rib 152 cpasses through the third quadrant region P3, and the rib 152 d passesthrough the fourth quadrant region P4, whereby the ribs 152 b, 152 c and152 d come into contact with the rear side (the upper horizontal side inthe drawing), the left side, and the front side (the lower horizontalside in the drawing) of the display panel 131.

In some exemplary embodiments, a rib may be additionally formed to passthrough the first quadrant region P1 and/or the fourth quadrant regionP4 and contact with the right side of the display panel 131. One rib(e.g. the rib 152 b), which comes into contact with any one side of thedisplay panel 131, and another rib (e.g. the rib 152 c), which comesinto contact with another side of the display panel 131 may respectivelypass through different regions (e.g. the regions P2 and P3) among theregions P1, P2, P3 and P4, which are divided by the board arms 145, 146,147 and 148.

The window support plate 121 may be bent about the respective supportbosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d when pressure is applied by a user(i.e., the user presses portions of the window 11 to input commands tothe hub 1). The window support plate 121 may be elastically restored toan original shape when the applied pressure is removed.

The first manipulation protrusion 126 a, the second manipulationprotrusion 126 b, the third manipulation protrusion 126 c, and thefourth manipulation protrusion 126 d of the window support 12 may bearranged at positions respectively corresponding to the first contactswitch 181 a, the second contact switch 181 b, the third contact switch181 c, and the fourth contact switch 181 d, which are arranged on thedisplay PCB 14. As such, when pressure is applied to any one of thefirst area SE1, the second area SE2, the third area SE3 and the fourtharea SE4 of the window support 2 through the window 11, the manipulationprotrusion (e.g. the first manipulation protrusion 126 a), which fallsin the area to which the pressure is applied (e.g. the first area SE1),operates the contact switch located therebelow (e.g. the first contactswitch 181 a).

The window support 12 may further include a first tab 125 a, a secondtab 125 b, a third tab 125 c and a fourth tab 125 d, which extenddownward from the window support plate 121. The tabs 125 a, 125 b, 125 cand 125 d may protrude in the direction perpendicular to the bottomsurface of the window support plate 121. Tab insertion recesses may beformed in the upper surface of the partition 152 of the cover housing 15at positions corresponding to the tabs 125 a, 125 b, 125 c and 125 d.

The window 11 may be a circular plate. The window 11 may be attached tothe upper surface of the window support plate 121 of the window support12 using, for example, a piece of double-sided tape or an adhesive. Toallow a user to view the screen displayed on the display 13 through thewindow 11, at least a portion of the window 11 over the display 13 maybe formed of transparent material, such as acrylic, plastic, or glass.The entire window 11 may not be transparent. For example, a peripheralsurface area of the window 11 may be opaque so that a user sees only thescreen of the display panel 131 exposed through the opening 12 h of thewindow support 12 but does not see the window support 12. In thisexcample, only a predetermined area 11 b of the window 11, whichapproximately corresponds to the opening 12 h, may be transparent. Theremaining area 11 a of the window may be colored opaque or translucent,or a non-transparent film or other material (e.g., the double-sided tapeused to couple the window 11 to the upper surface of the window supportplate 121) may be attached to a surface of the remaining area 11 a ofwindow 11 (see FIG. 3).

As previously described, the window 11 may be formed of a clear elasticmaterial such as acrylic or plastic. The window 11 may be bent orotherwise be deformed when a user applies pressure within a given rangeto a top surface of the window (e.g., the user touches the window 11 toinput commands to the hub 1). The bending of window 11 may enable asmoother operation of the contact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c and 181d. The window 11 may return to the original shape when the appliedpressure is removed. In another example, the window support plate 121and not window 11 bends in response to the user pressure, such that thewindow 11 moves in response to pressure based on the bending of thewindow support plate 121.

The opening 12 h on the window support plate 121 has a longer horizontallength (or left-to-right length) than the vertical length (orfront-to-rear length). Consequently, the third area SE3 and the fourtharea SE4, which correspond to the left and right sides of the opening 12h, may not be suitable positions for the support bosses 122 a, 122 b,122 c and 122 d. Due to the circular shape of the window 11, thedistance from the periphery of the opening 12 h to the thirdmanipulation protrusion 126 c or the fourth manipulation protrusion 126d in the third area SE3 and the fourth area SE4 may be shorter than thedistance from the periphery of the opening 12 h to the firstmanipulation protrusion 126 a in the first area SE1 or the secondmanipulation protrusion 126 b in the second area SE2. Since the thirdmanipulation protrusion 126 c and the fourth manipulation protrusion 126d may be relatively closer to the support boss when the support boss isformed in the third area SE3 or the fourth area SE4, a user may need toapply relatively larger pressure to the window support plate 121 inorder to operate the third manipulation protrusion 126 c and the fourthmanipulation protrusion 126 d. To enable more uniform contact pressures,the first support boss 122 a and the second support boss 122 b may beformed in the first area SE1, and the third support boss 122 c and thefourth support boss 122 d may be formed in the second area SE2.

When viewed from the top side, the first manipulation protrusion 126 amay be located outside (i.e., radially further from a center of windowsupport plate 121) the first support boss 122 a and the second supportboss 122 b within the cover housing 15.

Similarly, the second manipulation protrusion 126 b may be locatedoutside the third support boss 122 c and the fourth support boss 122 dwithin the cover housing 15.

In another example, the first area SE1 and the second area SE2 may haveslits 121 a and 121 b positioned between the manipulation protrusions126 a and 126 b and the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d.Referring to FIG. 10D, when the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and122 d are located in the first area SE1 or the second area SE2, thesupport bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d may be closer to the firstmanipulation protrusion 126 a or the second manipulation protrusion 126b than the third manipulation protrusion 126 c or the fourthmanipulation protrusion 126 d. For example, when pressure is applied tothe first area SE1 of the window support plate 121, the window supportplate 121 may be bent about the first support boss 122 a and the secondsupport boss 122 b. When the pressure is applied by the user, the firstmanipulation protrusion 126 a may have a pivoting radius (or moment arm)r11 with respect to the first support boss 122 a and a pivoting radiusr12 with respect to the second support boss 122 b. In an exemplaryembodiment, r12 may be shorter than r11 because the first manipulationprotrusion 126 a is closer to the second support boss 122 b than thefirst support boss 122 a. In addition, when the distance from the thirdmanipulation protrusion 126 c to the first support boss 122 a is r31(r31>r11>r12), and the distance from the third manipulation protrusion126 c to the third support boss 122 c may be r33 that substantiallycorresponds to r31.

The manipulation performance of each manipulation protrusion 126 a, 126b, 126 c or 126 d may be affected by the distance to the closest supportboss. Without slit 121 a or 121 b, when r31 is greater than r12 as inthe above example, the third area SE3 is bent more easily than the firstarea SE1 even if similar pressures are applied to the first area SE1 andthe third area SE3. This would cause the third manipulation protrusion126 c to be moved downward more easily than the first manipulationprotrusion 126 a such that the third contact switch 181 c is activatedwith less user pressure than the first contact switch 181 a. Similarly,the operation of the second contact switch 181 b may require moreactivation pressure from a user than the third contact switch 181 c orthe fourth contact switch 181 d. The differences in the activationpressures for the different contact switches 181 a-d are generallyundesirable and may lead to errors when receiving user inputs.

To provide more uniform activation pressures, the first slit 121 a andthe second slit 121 b may be formed respectively in the first area SE1and the second area SE2 of the window support plate 121. In therespective areas SE1 and SE2, the slits 121 a and 121 b may be locatedbetween the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d and themanipulation protrusions 126 a, 126 b, 126 c and 126 d.

As illustrated in FIG. 10D, a diameter that passes the center c of thewindow support plate 121 and extends in the left-to-right direction maybe referred to as a horizontal diameter D1, and the diameter that passesthe center c of the window support plate 121 and extends in thefront-to-rear direction may be referred to as a vertical diameter D2. Inthis context, the first support boss 122 a and the second support boss122 b may be positioned in the first area SE1 in the directionsubstantially parallel to the horizontal diameter D1, and the thirdsupport boss 122 c and the fourth support boss 122 d may be positionedin the second area SE2 in the direction substantially parallel to thehorizontal diameter D1. In addition, the first slit 121 a and the secondslit 121 b may respectively extend in the direction substantiallyparallel to the horizontal diameter D1.

When the slits 121 a and 121 b are included in window support plate 121,the window support plate 121 may be bent at positions close to oppositeends of the slits 121 a and 121 b when the first area SE1 or the secondarea SE2 is pressed. In particular, because the window support plate 121bends mainly in a narrow area between the ends of the slits 121 a and121 b and the outer circumference of the window support plate 121, thewindow support plate 121 may be bent more with less user force than whenthe slits 121 a and 121 b are not included in the window support plate121.

In addition, the distance between the manipulation protrusions 126 a and126 b and the portions of the window support plate 121 in which thebending occurs may be increased when the slits 121 a and 121 b arepresent. For example, with respect to the first manipulation protrusion126 a, the distance rs to one end of the first slit 121 a becomes longerthan the distance r2 to the second support boss 122 b because thepivoting radius of the force applied to a bending portion of the firstarea SE1 increases. This increased length contributes to more efficientdownward movement of the first manipulation protrusion 126 a.

Because the slits 121 a and 121 b are formed between the support bosses122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d and the manipulation protrusions 126 a and126 b, the bending of the window support plate 121 in the first area SE1and the second area SE2 is substantially more greatly affected by theposition and shape of the slits 121 a and 121 b than the position of thesupport bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d. Accordingly, when thefirst slit 121 a and the second slit 121 b are substantiallysymmetrically arranged, the manipulation performance of the firstcontact switch 181 a and the second contact switch 181 b may beequalized even when the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c and 122 d ofthe first area SE1 and the second area SE2 are asymmetrically arranged.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the main body 40 may be supported by the base30 located therebelow, and may be coupled at the upper end thereof tothe cover housing 15. The main body 40 may include speaker cases 41 and42 for forming a cavity 49 therein, and one or more speakers 43 and 44may be placed in the cavity 49. In an exemplary embodiment, two speakers43 and 44 may be arranged at upper and lower positions in the speakercases 41 and 42. The speaker 43 located at the upper position may be atweeter for outputting high-pitched sound, and the speaker 44 located atthe lower position may be a woofer for outputting low-pitched sound.

Referring to FIGS. 22 to 25, the speaker cases 41 and 42 may include afront case 41 and a rear case 42, which define the cavity 49therebetween. The front case 41 may be provided with a pair of upper andlower sound output ports, which are open forward in order to exposevibrating plates (e.g. membranes) of the tweeter 43 and the woofer 44respectively.

A plurality of case-coupling bosses 411 may be formed on the innersurface of the front case 41 so as to protrude rearward. In theexemplary embodiment, two case-coupling bosses 411 may be formed on leftand right sides at the same constant height to form a pair, and a pairof such case-coupling bosses 411 is formed at three different heights,so that the case-coupling bosses 411 may be formed at six places intotal, without being limited thereto.

The rear case 42 may include insertion bosses 421 at positionscorresponding to the case-coupling bosses 411 of the front case 41.Bolts or other connecters may be inserted from the rear side of the rearcase 42 to pass through the respective insertion bosses 421 to therebybe fastened to the case-coupling bosses 411.

A pair of fastening bosses 153 c and 153 d may be indented rearward atleft and right positions in the front surface of the upper-end holdingportion 153 of the cover housing 15 (see FIGS. 11 to 14), and a pair offastening bosses 153 a and 153 b in the rear surface of the upper-endholding portion 153 may be indented forward at left and right positions.Corresponding to the fastening bosses 153 a, 153 b, 153 c and 153 dformed in the cover housing 15, a first boss-insertion recess 415 and asecond boss-insertion recess 416 may be formed in the front case 41 ofthe main body 40, and a third boss-insertion recess 425 and a fourthboss-insertion recess 426 may be formed in the rear case 42.

Referring to FIG. 22, each of the first boss-insertion recess 415 andthe second boss-insertion recess 416 may be indented rearward from thefront surface of the front case 41 (i.e. the surface facing the frontside of the hub 1). The upper end of each recess 415 and 416 may be opento allow the fastening boss 153 c or 153 d to be inserted thereinto fromthe top side. Referring to FIG. 25, each of the third boss-insertionrecess 425 and the fourth boss-insertion recess 426 may be indentedforward from the rear surface of the rear case 42 (i.e. the surfacefacing the rear side of the hub 1). The upper end of each recess may beopen to allow the fastening boss 153 a or 153 b to be inserted thereintofrom the top side.

Each of the boss-insertion recesses 415, 416, 425 and 426 may have afastening hole for the passage of a bolt or other connecter. Forexample, a fastening hole 416 h may be formed in the secondboss-insertion recess 416 and a fastening hole 415 h may also be formedin the first boss-insertion recess 415. Similarly, fastening holes 425 hand 426 h (see FIG. 25) may also be formed in the other boss-insertionrecesses 425 and 426.

When inserted into the respective corresponding boss-insertion recesses415, 416, 425 and 426, the fastening bosses 153 a, 153 b, 153 c and 153d may reach positions corresponding to the fastening holes 415 h, 416 h,425 h and 426 h. Bolts or other connectors may pass through therespective fastening holes 415 h, 416 h, 425 h and 426 h to thereby befastened to the fastening bosses 153 a, 153 b, 153 c and 153 d.

Referring to FIGS. 25 to 27, at least one communication module 50 may beplaced on the main body 40. The communication module 50 may be connectedto the circuit of the main PCB 48 and/or the display PCB 14, and may becontrolled by the controller 82. In one embodiment, the communicationmodule 50 may include a WiFi® module 50 a, a Bluetooth® module 50 b, anda Zigbee® module 530. However, the present disclosure is not limitedthereto, and other types of communication modules may be included in themain body, such as a Z-wave® module or an NFC module (shown in FIG. 8 asbeing included in display PCB 14).

A module assembly 510 including the WiFi® module 50 a and the Bluetooth®module 50 b may be placed on the rear portion of the main body 40. Forexample, the module assembly 510 may be positioned on or coupled to therear case 42. The module assembly 510 may be coupled to or separatedfrom the rear case 42. In other example, the WiFi® module 50 a and theBluetooth® module 50 b may be separately provided so as to beindependently coupled to or separated from the main body 40.

The module assembly 510 may include a pair of antennas 511 a and 511 bfor transmitting and receiving signals. In other example, the moduleassembly 510 may be coupled by a wire or cable to one or more of theantennas 521 or 522 (see FIGS. 25 to 27) positioned apart from themodule assembly 510.

The module assembly 510 may include a first antenna-connection terminal513 and a second antenna-connection terminal 514 of the WiFi® module 50a, and an antenna-connection terminal 515 of the Bluetooth® module 50 b.In addition, a first antenna 521 and a second antenna 522 may bearranged at the rear left and right positions on the inner surface ofthe sidewall 151 of the cover housing 15. The first antenna 521 may beconnected to the first antenna-connection terminal 513 via a conductiveline L1, and the second antenna 522 may be connected to the secondantenna-connection terminal 514 via a conductive line L2.

Each of the first antenna 521 and the second antenna 522 may be formedby coupling a conductor having a predetermined pattern to a thin film,and a conductive line L1 or L2 may be connected to the conductor. Eachof the first antenna 521 and the second antenna 522 may be attached tothe sidewall 151 of the cover housing 15 by a piece of double-sided tapeor other connecting method.

As previously described, at least a portion of the sidewall 151 of thecover housing 15 may be externally exposed and located above the grille20 and, thus, is not surrounded by the grille 20. Therefore, the firstantenna 521 and the second antenna 522 may be attached to a portion ofthe sidewall 151 extending above the grille 20. Signal interferencecaused by the metal grille 20 may be reduced through this positioning toenable more accurate transmission and reception of signals.

In addition, the sidewall 151 may be shaped so that a distance betweenthe upper end thereof and the partition 152 gradually increases awayfrom the front end of the hub 1. In this configuration, the rear portionof the sidewall 151 may be positioned further from the display PCB 14(which is mounted on the partition 152) than the front portion of thesidewall 151. Accordingly, the first antenna 521 and the second antenna522 may be spaced farther away from the display PCB 14 when positionedon the rear portion of the sidewall 151 to reduce signal interferencecaused by a magnetic field generated by current flowing in the circuitof the display PCB 14.

The Zigbee® module 530 may be provided on one of the left and rightsides of the main body 40, and a third antenna 532 may be connected tothe antenna connection terminal 531 of the Zigbee® module 530 via aconductive line L3. A fourth antenna 541 may be connected to the antennaconnection terminal 515 of the Bluetooth® module 50 b via a conductiveline L4 and may be positioned on the inner surface of the front portionof the sidewall 151 of the cover housing 15. Each of the third antenna532 and the fourth antenna 541 is formed by coupling a conductor havinga predetermined pattern to a thin film, and the conductive line L3 or L4may be connected to the conductor. Each of the third antenna 532 and thefourth antenna 541 may be attached to the sidewall 151 of the coverhousing 15 by a piece of double-sided tape or other connection method.

Referring to FIGS. 28 and 29, the main PCB 48 may be located in thespace between the main body 40 and the base 30. The main PCB 49 maycontrol the general operations of the hub 1. For example, the controller(or processor) 82, a USB port 62, a data transmission port 64, variousswitches 76 and 77, and a receptacle 390 may be mounted on the main PCB48. The main PCB 48 may be electrically connected to various electricdevices, such as the communication modules 50 a and 530, the display PCB14, the tweeter 43, and the woofer 44.

A radiator 33 may be placed between the main PCB 48 and the main body40. The radiator 33 may dissipate heat, discharged upward from the mainPCB 48 to an upper space (i.e. the space between the lower surface ofthe main body 40 and the radiator 33).

A plurality of fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c and 45 d may extendfrom the lower surface of the main body 40. The first fastening boss 45a and the second fastening boss 45 b may extend from the lower surfaceof the rear case 42, and the third fastening boss 45 c and the fourthfastening boss 45 d may extend from the lower surface of the front case41. The fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c and 45 d may be coupled to thebase 30. The fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c and 45 d may be formedrespectively in four quadrants in the lower surface of the main body 40.

The base 30 may be provided with insertion bosses 35 a, 35 b, 35 c and35 d at positions respectively corresponding to the fastening bosses 45a, 45 b, 45 c and 45 d. The fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c and 45 dmay be inserted into the respective insertion bosses 35 a, 35 b, 35 cand 35 d, and then may be fastened to bolts or other connectors, whichpass upward through the respective insertion bosses 35 a, 35 b, 35 c and35 d.

A plurality of radiator coupling bosses 46 b, 46 c and 46 d may protrudefrom the lower surface of the main body 40. The radiator support bosses46 b, 46 c and 46 d may be positioned close to the fastening bosses 45a, 45 b, 45 c and 45 d. Although the radiator support bosses 46 b, 46 cand 46 d, in the exemplary embodiment, may be formed in three of thefour quadrants the lower surface of the main body 40, the quantity andthe positioning of the radiator support bosses 46 a, 46 b, 46 c and 46 dis not limited thereto.

The radiator 33 may be formed as from planar metal plate or sheet andmay include aluminum, stainless steel, or other metal materials. Theradiator 33 may include a horizontal flat portion 331 and a plurality ofsupport tabs 332 b, 332 c and 332 d extending from the periphery of theflat portion 331.

The flat portion 331 may include through-holes 335 a, 335 b, 335 c and335 d (hereinafter referred to as “fastening-boss through-holes”) forthe passage of the fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c and 45 d. The flatportion 331 may also include through-holes 334 b, 334 c and 334 d forthe passage of the support bosses 46 b, 46 c and 46 d (hereinafterreferred to as “support-boss through-holes”).

Referring to FIG. 29, the support bosses 46 b, 46 c and 46 d may becoupled respectively to the support tabs 332 b, 332 c and 332 d at theupper side of the main PCB 48. Each of the support tabs 332 b, 332 c and332 d may include a vertical portion 336 extending downward from theflat portion 331, and a horizontal portion 337 horizontally bent fromthe vertical portion 336. The horizontal portion 337 of each support tab332 b, 332 c and 332 d may be provided with a fastening hole 338 for thepassage of a bolt (or other connector). For example, the bolt may passupward through the fastening hole 338 and fasten to one of the supportbosses 46 b, 46 c and 46 d.

When the support bosses 46 b, 46 c and 46 d are fastened to the supporttabs 332 b, 332 c and 332 d, the flat portion 331 may be spaced apartfrom the lower surface of the main body 40 located thereabove. The flatportion 331 may be also spaced apart from the main PCB 48 locatedtherebelow. Because the flat portion 331 is spaced apart from the lowersurface of the main body 40, the flat portion 331 does not vibrate orgenerate noise when the main body 40 vibrates due to the output of thespeakers 43 and 44.

The main PCB 48 may have through-holes 481 a, 481 b, 481 c and 481 d atpositions respectively corresponding to the through-holes 335 a, 335 b,335 c and 335 d of the radiator 33. The fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45c and 45 d may be longer than the support bosses 46 b, 46 c and 46 d,and may respectively pass through the through-holes 335 a, 335 b, 335 cand 335 d of the radiator 33 and the through-holes 481 a, 481 b, 481 cand 481 d of the main PCB 48 to thereby be inserted into the insertionbosses 35 a, 35 b, 35 c and 35 d of the base 30.

Referring to FIGS. 28 to 34, the base 30 may include a base body 31having an open upper surface and defining a predetermined space therein.The insertion bosses 35 a, 35 b, 35 c and 35 d may protrude upward fromthe inner surface of the base body 31. A base bottom portion 310 of thebase body 31 may include fastening holes 351 a, 351 b, 351 c and 351 d,which are positioned to communicate with (i.e., provide a path to) theinsertion bosses 35 a, 35 b, 35 c and 35 d.

When the main body 40 and the radiator 33 are coupled together, thefastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c and 45 d may pass through thefastening-boss through-holes 481 a, 481 b, 481 c and 481 d formed in themain PCB 48. Then, respective fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c and 45 dmay be inserted into the insertion bosses 35 a, 35 b, 35 c and 35 dformed in the base 30. Thereafter, bolts or other connectors may beinserted into the fastening holes 351 a, 351 b, 351 c and 351 from thebottom side of the base 30 and fastened to the fastening bosses 45 a, 45b, 45 c and 45 d inside the insertion bosses 35 a, 35 b, 35 c and 35 dto couple the base 30 to the body 40.

The base body 31 may include a support rubber (or pad) 32 fixed to thelower surface of the base body 31. The hub 1 may have a relatively smallsize to allow the user to position the hub 1 on a surface, such as atable or a shelf. The support rubber 32 may be positioned providedunderneath the base body 31. The support rubber 32 may be formed fromrubber, plastic, or other deformable material and may cause frictionagainst the surface to deter an unintended movement of the hub 1.

A rubber insertion groove 318 may be formed in the base bottom portion310 of the base 30. The rubber insertion groove 318 may extend along thepredetermined circumference of the base bottom portion 310. The rubberinsertion groove 318 may take the form of an arc, which extends from oneend 318 a to the other end 318 b at a constant curvature, and thefastening holes 351 a, 351 b, 351 c and 351 d may be located in therubber insertion groove 318. The support rubber 32 is inserted into therubber insertion groove 318. The upper surface of the support rubber 32may be attached to the bottom of the rubber insertion groove 318 by apiece of double-sided tape or other connection method. In anotherexample, the support rubber 32 may be friction fitted within the rubberinsertion groove 318.

The support rubber 32 may include a rubber main body 321 that extends ina long length corresponding to a length of the rubber insertion groove318. Support protrusions 322 may extend down from the rubber main body321 and toward the outside of the rubber insertion groove 318. When thesupport bosses 322 are placed on a floor or other surface, the hub 1 maybe positioned upright (i.e., such that the base 30 contacts thesurface), and the base body 31 may be spaced apart from the surface by adistance corresponding to a protrusion height of the support protrusions322.

The support protrusions 322 may be spaced along of the rubber main body321. For example, the support protrusions 322 may be symmetricallyarranged about the center of the base bottom portion 310 of the basebody 31. Although four support protrusions 322 are positioned at aninterval of 90 degrees in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 36, thenumber of support protrusions 322 and the spacing of the supportprotrusions 322 are not limited thereto.

The base body 31 may include a base outer wall portion 311 extendingupward from the periphery of the base bottom portion 310. The outerdiameter of a lower portion of base outer wall portion 311 may besmaller than the outer diameter of the lower end of the grille 20. Theouter diameter of the base outer wall portion 311 may gradually increaseupward such that the outer diameter of the upper end of the base outerwall portion 311 may substantially correspond to the outer diameter ofthe lower end of the grille 20, such that a smooth transmission isformed at intersection of the base outer wall portion 311 and the grille20.

The base body 31 may include a lower-end holding portion 313 extendingupward from the base outer wall portion 311 so as to be coupled to thegrille 20. The lower-end holding portion 313 may be inserted (or fitted)into an opening formed in the lower end of the grille 20. In this way,an interior surface at the lower end of the grille 20 may beinterference-fitted to an exterior surface of the lower-end holdingportion 313 using the elasticity or the restoring force of the grille 20or the lower-end holding portion 313. Thus, the lower-end holdingportion 313 and the grille 20 may be coupled without using fasteningmembers, such as bolts.

Referring to FIG. 32, the lower-end holding portion 313 may be locatedinside the upper end of the base outer wall portion 311 such that theouter surface of the base body 31 is indented from the upper end of theouter wall portion 311 to form the outer surface of the lower-endholding portion 313. The upper end of the outer wall portion 311 mayinclude a surface 312, which extends from the outer surface of the outerwall portion 311 to the lower-end holding portion 313 and faces thelower end of the grille 20. The lower end of the grille 20 may be placedon the surface 312. The surface 312 may be formed on the upper end ofthe base outer wall portion 311 to have a shape corresponding to thelower end of the grille 20, and the width of the surface 312 maysubstantially correspond to the thickness of the grille 20.

The outer surface of the lower-end holding portion 313 may contact theinner surface of the grille 20 such that the lower-end holding portion313 supports the lower end of the grille 20. For example, when thegrille 20 is formed of a metal material, the grille 20 may be deformedso as to correspond in shape to the shape of the lower-end holdingportion 313. Therefore, the lower end of the grille 20 may remain in theshape corresponding to the lower-end holding portion 313 even ifpressure (e.g., a user's grip) is applied to the exterior surface of alower portion of grille 20.

The grille 20 may be formed as a cylinder by rolling a metal panel tohave a circular cross-sectional shape. If the lower-end holding portion313 extends in an elliptical form along the upper end of the outer wallportion 311, the cylindrical grille 20 may be deformed in an ellipticalshape so as to correspond to the shape of the lower-end holding portion313 when the lower end of the grille 20 is fitted onto the lower-endholding portion 313. Furthermore, the grille 20 may remain in thedeformed shape while coupled to the lower-end holding portion 313.

An annular rib 315 may protrude upward from an inner surface of the basebody 31. The rib 315 may be formed inside the lower-end holding portion313. The main body 40 may include an insertion rib 47, which protrudesdownward from the lower surface of each of the cases 41 and 42. Theinsertion rib 47 may be inserted into a groove 314 between the lower-endholding portion 13 and the rib 315.

The base bottom portion 310 of the base body 31 may have a recess 316.The recess 316 may be surrounded by the rubber insertion groove 318. Therecess 316 may include a recess side portion 316 a extending upward fromthe periphery of an opening formed in the bottom surface, and a recessbottom portion 316 b extending horizontally from the recess side portion316 a so as to form the bottom of the recess 316 (i.e., when the hub 1is positioned upside down such that a user is viewing the bottom surfaceof the base 30).

Although not illustrated, the hub 1 may include an adaptor for receivingexternal commercial alternating current (AC) power, converting the ACpower to DC power, and supplying the DC power for the operation of thehub 1. The adaptor may be accommodated in the recess 316, and an outputterminal for the adapter may be connected by a cord to a socket 391 inthe recess side portion 316 a. A receptacle 390 associated with thesocket 391 may be located on the lower surface of the main PCB 48. Thereceptacle 390 may electrically connect the socket 391 to the main PCB48 such that power is provided by the adapter to the main PCB 48.

A cord-fixing groove 37 may be formed in the base body 31. Thecord-fixing groove 37 may be formed between both the ends 318 a and 318b of the rubber insertion groove 318. The cord-fixing groove 37 extendsfrom an inner opening 371 formed in the recess side portion 316 a to anouter opening 372 formed in the base outer wall portion 311. Thecord-fixing groove 37 may further include a cord insertion slot 373,which is formed in the lower surface of the base bottom portion 310 andextends to connect the inner opening 371 and the outer opening 372. Thecord-fixing groove 37 may have an inner diameter which is greater than awidth of the cord insertion hole 373. Because the cord typically has anouter coating that is somewhat elastic, the cord may be slightlydeformed to pass through the cord insertion hole 373. Once the cord hasbeen inserted into the cord-fixing groove 37, the cord returns to anoriginal shape thereof and is held within the cord-fixing groove 37 bythe cord insertion hole 373. In one example, the outer opening 372 maybe greater in diameter than the inner opening 371, and the cross sectionof the cord-fixing groove 37 may gradually decrease in size between theouter opening 372 and the inner opening 371.

Insertion-hole-reducing protrusions 319 a and 319 b may be formed on theinner surface of the cord-fixing groove 37. The insertion-hole-reducingprotrusions 319 a and 319 b may be formed on at least one of oppositeportions defining the cord insertion hole 373. Because the width of thecord insertion hole 373 may be reduced in the portion in which theinsertion-hole-reducing protrusions 319 a and 319 b are formed, theinsertion-hole-reducing protrusions 319 a and 319 b help to prevent thecord from being separated from the cord-fixing groove 37.

A WiFi® reset switch 77 may be provided on the lower surface of the mainPCB 48. The WiFi® reset switch 77 may be configured as a contact switchand may be exposed through the aperture formed in the base bottomportion 310 within the recess 316. When the WiFi® reset switch 77 ispushed, the controller 82 may initialize (reset) the WiFi® module 50 a.

A hub reset switch 76 may be located on the lower surface of the mainPCB 48. The hub reset switch 76 may be configured as a contact switch,and may be exposed through the aperture formed in the base bottomportion 310 within the recess 316. When the hub reset switch 76 ispushed, the controller 82 may be reinitialized or reset.

Referring to FIGS. 35 to 38, as described above, the hub 1 may includethe cylindrical metal grille 20 having the through-holes 20 h (see FIG.3). The main body 40 with the speaker 43 and/or 44 may be placed withinthe grille 20 (see FIG. 22). The cover 10 may be coupled to the top ofthe main body 40 and may have the upper surface for displaying theinterface screen (see FIG. 3). The base 30 may be positioned below themain body 40 to support the main body 40 (see FIG. 3).

Hereinafter, the grille 20 may be formed as a cylinder is defined as amain shape 600. The main shape 600 includes an upper end 610 forming acircular opening in a plane PN2 inclined at a predetermined angle (θ2,see FIG. 6A) relative to the horizontal plane PN1. The main shape 600further includes a lower end 620 acquired by orthogonally projecting theupper end 610 on the horizontal plane PN1. The lower end 620 may have anelliptical corresponding to the shape of the base 30. The main shape 600may correspond to an exterior surface of the grille 20 having the crosssections, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

To manufacture the hub 1, first, a flat metal panel 710 is prepared(Step 1). The metal panel 710 may be a stainless steel (SUS) panel ormay be formed of another material, such as aluminum, a different metalor even include non-metallic materials such as a plastic or ceramic.Although the flat metal panel 710 may have a substantially rectangularshape in an exemplary embodiment, the shape of flat metal panel 710 isnot limited solely to the rectangular shape. For example, flat metalpanel 710 may be formed in a rhombus shape and the angled sides may beconnected to form the cylinder main shape 600 with an angled seam.

Thereafter, the metal panel 710 may be processed to have a shapecorresponding to the outer surface of the main shape 600 and to includethe through-holes 20 h therein (Step 2). This processing may includeetching the metal panel 710. For example, peripheral portions of themetal panel 710 may be removed (e.g., cut or etched away) to form adesired shape. For example, a shaped metal panel 720, which has the formillustrated in FIG. 36 (portion c), may be acquired by corroding theregion designated by diagonal lines in FIG. 36 (portion b). In theillustrated example, the shaped metal panel 720 may have a curved uppersurface, and when the shaped metal panel 720 is formed into a cylinderform, the curved upper surface may form an inclined plane. Furthermore,a region of the metal panel 710 may be etched or otherwise processed(e.g., drilled) to form the through-holes 20 h.

Referring to FIG. 37, the through-holes 20 h formed in the grille 20 mayinclude first through-holes 20 h 1, and second through-holes 20 h 2,which have a diameter smaller than the first through-holes 20 h 1. Thefirst through-holes 20 h 1, and second through-holes 20 h 2 may bearranged in an arrayed pattern in which the first through-holes 20 h 1and the second through-holes 20 h 2 alternate in both vertical andhorizontal directions.

For example, the first (larger) through-holes 20 h 1 and the second(smaller) through-holes 20 h 2 may be alternatively positioned in invertical directions to form columns of through-holes 20 h 1 and 20 h 2.The through-holes 20 h 1 and 20 h 2 may similarly be alternativelypositioned in horizontal direction to form rows of through-holes 20 h 1and 20 h 2. Although shown as having similar (i.e., circular) shapes,the first through-holes 20 h 1 and the second through-holes 20 h 2 mayhave different shapes (e.g., oval, rectangle, etc.) or may have similarshapes that extend in different directions The pattern of thethrough-holes 20 h 1 and 20 h 2 may increase the area in the grille 20through which sound output from the speakers 43 and 44 is discharged.For example, positioning the smaller through-holes 20 h 2 between thelarger through-holes 20 h 1 in the alternating array pattern may enablethe grille 20 to have more open surface area to pass sound in comparisonto using only the first through-holes 20H1. Furthermore, vertically andhorizontally alternating the through-holes 20 h 1 and 20 h 2 may allowgrille 20 to be more pliable and, therefore, enable smoother deformationof the grille 20 when rolling the shaped metal panel 720 into acylindrical shape. Vertically and horizontally alternating through-holes20 h 1 and 20 h 2 may additionally increase structural stability of thegrille 20 due to an increased number of links between the through-holes20 h 1 and 20 h 2.

Referring to FIG. 36 (portion b), no through-holes 20 h 1 and 20 h 2 maybe included in a lower-end peripheral portion LA in formed in a regionfrom a lower end 722 of the grille 20 to a first boundary BOL parallelto the lower end 722. The lower-end holding portion 313 of the base 30may come into close contact with the inner surface of the lower-endperipheral portion LA. Because the lower-end peripheral portion LA maybe deformed while being fitted into the lower-end holding portion 313,the lower-end peripheral portion LA may exclude the through-holes 20 h 1and 20 h 2 so that the lower-end peripheral portion LA has greaterrigidity.

Referring to FIG. 37 (portion a), in any one column in which the firstthrough-holes 20 h 1 and the second through-holes 20 h 2 are alternatelyrepeated, the diameter of two or more first through-holes 20 h 1 a, 20 h1 b and 20 h 1 c is reduced with decreasing distance to the firstboundary BOL so that the first through-hole 20 h 1 c closest to thefirst boundary BOL has the minimum diameter. That is, the grille 20 mayhave the pattern in which the first through-holes 20 h 1 and the secondthrough-holes 20 h 2 alternate in the horizontal and vertical directionsaway from an edge or boundary of the grille 20. Near the edge orboundary of, a diameter of the first through-holes 20 h 1 may graduallybe reduced in the portion close to the first boundary BOL. For example,closest first through-hole 20 h 1 c (e.g., the through holes positionedin one or more rows or columns closest to the boundary) may have adiameter smaller than the other first through-holes 20 h 1 a and 20H1 b.Intermediate first through-hole 20 h 1 b are positioned in one or morerows or columns farther from the boundary BOL then the rows/columns forthe closest first through-hole 20 h 1 c. Intermediate first through-hole20 h 1 b may have a larger diameter than the closest first through-hole20 h 1 a. The far through-hole 20 h 1 a are positioned in one or morerows or columns farther from the boundary BOL then the rows/columns forthe through-hole 20 h 1 c and 20 h 1 b, and may have a larger diametersthan the through-hole hole 20 h 1 c and 20 h 1 b. Thus, the grille 20may have through-holes having a pattern in which the first through-holes20 h 1 and the second through-holes 20 h 2 are repeated, and thediameter of the first through-holes 20 h 1 is gradually reduced in theportion close to the second boundary BOU in the order of thethrough-hole 20 h 1 a (which has a diameter smaller than the otherthrough-holes 20 h 1), the through-hole 20 h 1 b and the through-hole 20h 1 c, as illustrated in FIG. 37.

As shown in FIG. 36, the outer shape of the flat metal panel 720 may beprocessed such that opposite lateral sides 723 and 724 are substantiallystraight and extending orthogonally from the center of the rear surfaceof the grille 20. Consequently, when the processed flat metal panel 720is rolled into a cylindrical shape, the sides 723 and 724 may meet eachat a straight line VL orthogonally extending downward from the uppermostpoint Pm.

The two sides 723 and 724 of the processed flat metal panel 720 may bebonded to each other or otherwise coupled so as to form the cylindricalgrille 20 in which a curved side 721 corresponding to the upper end 610of the main shape 600 forms an upper end 21 of the grille 20 and astraight side 722 corresponding to the lower end 620 of the main shape600 forms a lower end 22 of the grille 20 (Step 3). Because thecylindrical grille 20 may be deformed from the flat metal panel 720 bycircularly rolling the flat metal panel 720, the shape of the grille 20may be determined by the plasticity and the elasticity or the restoringforce of the material thereof. Consequently, the upper end 21 and thelower end 22 of the grille 20 may have various shapes or forms.Nevertheless, the flat metal panel 720 may have a substantiallyconsistent width between sides 723 and 724, as illustrated in FIG. 37(portion b), and the cylinder grille 20 formed from the flat metal panel720 may have a cross-section that is substantially similar to a circle.

As shown in FIG. 38, the grille 20, when viewed from the rear side, maybe horizontally symmetrical about a vertical line VL. A region LR of thegrille 20 may extend from the lower end 20 to the upper end 21 along thevertical line VL and may extend a width W from the vertical line VL. Aregion LR, may not include any through-holes 20 h. The region LR of thegrille 20 may be formed by the left and right portions of the flat metalpanel 720 in which no through-holes 20 h are formed, as illustrated inFIG. 36 (portion c).

In Step 3, the two sides 723 and 724 of the flat metal panel 720 may bebonded together (e.g., at vertical line VL) to form the cylinder mainbody 600. The boding may include welding together the two sides 723 and724. The welding may be performed using a welding rod. In this case,strip-shaped welding beads may be formed via melting the flat metalpanel and the welding rod. In other examples, resistance welding (e.g.spot or projection welding) or laser welding may be used bond the twosides 723 and 724. In resistance welding, welding beads are limited to aspecific portion compared to welding using a welding rod. In laserwelding, the welding heat input is very small, the range of thermaleffect is narrow, and the smallest welding beads are left, enabling veryprecise bonding between members. In other examples, the two sides 723and 724 of the flat metal panel 720 may be bonded together withoutwelding, such as through the use of mechanical couplers (e.g., rivets),an adhesive, a chemical bonding (e.g., electrostatic bonding), byphysically shaping the two sides 723 and 724 to forming interlockingstructures, etc.

Referring to FIG. 38, the grille 20, after being formed via the stepsdescribed above, may be processed to include a hole 25 for theinstallation of the universal serial bus (USB) port 62 (see FIG. 25) orother ports for other connections (e.g., an audio output port to connectto other speakers or a audio system). The grille 20 may also include apositioning recess 26 for the insertion of the positioning protrusion156 (see FIG. 21) formed on the sidewall 151 of the cover housing 15.The hole 25 for the installation of the USB port and the positioningrecess 26 may be formed in the region LR of the rear surface of thegrille 20 in which no through-holes 20 h are formed (see FIG. 38(portion d)). The hole 25 and the recess 26 may be formed by any one ofknown various processing methods, such as pressing, punching, ordrilling.

The hole 25 may be processed in the welded portion of the two sides 723and 724 of the flat metal panel 720 (Step 4). The hole 25 may bepositioned to enable access to the USB port 62 located on the main PCB48 (see FIG. 28). The recess 26 may be indented from the upper end 21 ofthe grille 20 so as to be formed in the welded portion (e.g., along lineVL).

Thereafter, the welded portion of the two sides 723 and 724 of the flatmetal panel 720 on the outer surface of the grille 20 may be polished(Step 5). For example, the welded portion (e.g., region LR) may be ispolished using a sheet of abrasive material (e.g., sandpaper) to form asmooth surface having no welding beads may be acquired. In anotherexample, the welded portion may be polished using a chemical treatmentor may be polished by propelling a stream of abrasive materials (e.g.,sandblasting) However, welding beads 28 may still remain after polishingin step 5 because the inner surface of the grille 20 is not polished.

After removing the welding beads, the outer surface of the grille 20 maybe prepared for painting, such as to polish the outer surface untilhairlines is formed (see FIG. 39) (Step 6). The hairlines may be formedby cutting a metal surface using a sheet of abrasive material having aprescribed particle size, and the hairlines may extend in a direction(horizontally) corresponding to a direction that the abrasive sheet ismoved again the grille 20. The hairlines may help emphasis a luster andtexture of the metal on the outer surface of the grille 20.

The grille having the hairlines may be painted (Step 7). The painting ofthe grille 20 may be electrocoating (or electro painting). For example,the grille 20 may be positioned in a tank holding a soluble resin paint,and a current may be applied to the grille 20 to cause the paint to bedrawn toward the grille to form a coating. The coating may be formed onboth exterior and interior surfaces of the grille 20. Various marks,such as symbols, characters, figures, and the like, may be formed in theouter surface of the painted grille 20 via laser processing (Step 8).

A filter may be attached to the inner surface of the grille 20 (Step 9).The filter may be formed of a piece of mesh or non-woven fabric havingfine holes. The filter may be attached to the inner surface of thegrille 20 using an adhesive member, such as a piece of double-sidedtape.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 32, as described above, the upper-end holdingportion 153 of the cover 10 may have a shape corresponding to the upperend 610 of the main shape 600. Furthermore, the base 30 may be providedwith the lower-end holding portion 313 having a shape corresponding tothe lower end 620 of the main shape 600.

The grille 20 may be fitted into the lower-end holding portion 313 andthe upper-end holding portion 153. The cover 10 and the main body 40 maycoupled by the inserting upper-end holding portion 153 into the opening(i.e. the region surrounded by the upper end of the grille 20) formed inthe upper surface of the grille 20 after the main body is inserted intothe grille 20, as described above with reference to FIG. 5. When thecover 10 and the main body are coupled in this manner, the inner surfaceof the upper portion of the grille 20 may contact the outer surface ofthe upper-end holding portion 153 to cause the upper end of the grille20 to be deformed into a shape corresponding to the shape of theupper-end holding portion 153.

In the same manner, when the lower-end holding portion 313 is insertedinto the opening (i.e. the region surrounded by the lower end of thegrille 20) formed in the lower surface of the grille 20, as describedabove with reference to FIG. 32, the inner surface of the lower portionof the grille 20 may contact the outer surface of the lower-end holdingportion 313 such that the lower end of the grille 20 is deformed into ashape corresponding to the shape of the lower-end holding portion 313.

A hub (or a sound output apparatus) of the present disclosure mayprovide an interface screen, which displays information transmitted andreceived to and from surrounding devices via a communication module thatwirelessly communicates with the surrounding devices, thereby enablingthe management of various kinds of surrounding devices and the easyunderstanding of information acquired from devices in the Internet ofThings.

In addition, when the interface screen is displayed on the upper surfaceof the hub, visibility is improved. In particular, such visibility isfurther improved when the interface screen is inclined. In addition,because coupling regions between elements are located within acylindrical grille an aesthetically pleasant external appearance of thehub is accomplished.

In addition, because the upper and lower ends of the grille arerespectively fitted to a cover and a base, the grille may be fixedwithout separate fastening members. In addition, in the process ofcoupling the cylindrical metal grille to the cover and the base, theupper and lower ends of the grille have a fixed shape using theplasticity of a metal material thereof, which allows the grille to beprovided with a fixed shape in a simplified manner. In addition, when amain PCB is located between the base and the main body, the utility ofspace is improved.

In addition, it is possible to manage an electronic appliance by, forexample, sensing the state of the electronic appliance or controllingthe operation of the electronic appliance using the function provided byan accessory, which is separate from the electronic appliance, viacommunication with the accessory. In particular, even if the kind of theaccessory or the electronic appliance is changed, the hub may be appliedto the changed appliance when the configuration of the interface thereofis changed, which results in increased versatility and expanded userange of the hub.

In addition, the upper end of the grille and the cover define acontinuous curvilinear contour, which provides the hub with an improvedunified external appearance. In addition, an interface screen isprovided, which displays information exchanged via a communicationmodule performing wireless communication with surrounding devices,thereby enabling management of various kinds of the surrounding devicesand allowing easy understanding of information acquired from appliancein the Internet of Things.

In addition, because a window, which is placed on the upper surface ofthe hub to expose the screen, functions as a button for manipulating theinterface, the hub may realize a simple external appearance withoutbuttons. In addition, specific areas on the window, to which a displayscreen output from the interface is projected, may function as buttonsfor manipulating the interface, which enables more intuitivemanipulation of the interface. For example, four areas on the windowsurrounding the region from which the interface screen is exposed,namely to the front and rear and the left and right thereof, mayfunction as buttons, and thus a menu item displayed on the interface maybe scrolled in four directions or the selection of menus items in therespective directions may be easily performed.

In addition, the respective areas on the window, which function asbuttons, have uniform manipulation performance. Here, “uniformmanipulation performance” means that contact switches corresponding tothe respective areas are accurately operated when the respective areasare pushed. In addition, in the hub of the present disclosure, thewindow, which is inclined relative to the horizontal plane, and theinner surface of a cover housing, which surrounds the side surface ofthe window, are parallel to each other, whereby the gap between thewindow and the inner surface of the cover housing may be constantthroughout the external appearance of the hub, which provides anaesthetically improved upper surface to the hub.

In particular, even when the window has a circular shape, a constant gapbetween the window and the inner surface of the cover housing may bemaintained. In addition, even if the hub is moved or an external shakeis applied to the hub, a display panel, which outputs the interfacescreen, may remain at a fixed position without shaking, which mayprevent the interface screen, which is visible through a transparentportion of the window, from being moved to one side.

In addition, the position at which the display panel will be installedmay be indicated via a rib formed on a partition, which supports thedisplay panel, which may prevent assembly failure in the manufacturingprocess. In addition, the window, to which the screen of the displaypanel is projected, includes a predetermined transparent portion forshowing the interface screen, and the remaining portion of the windowmay be colored or provided with a film attached thereto. In this case,the display panel may be installed at the correct position so that thescreen is accurately located at a fixed position within the transparentportion, rather than being erroneously moved to one side.

In addition, in the hub of the present disclosure, an antenna for thecommunication module is located outside the metal grille which mayprevent signal interference or interception by the metal grille. Inaddition, when the antenna connected to the communication module islocated on the inner surface of the cover housing above the grille theantenna is not exposed to the outside of the hub, which imparts anaesthetically improved external appearance to the hub.

In addition, when the antenna is spaced apart from a display PCB placedwithin the cover housing, it is possible to reduce signal interferencedue to a magnetic field, which is generated by current flowing in thedisplay PCB. In particular, a sidewall of the cover housing may begradually increased in height from the upper end of the grille withincreasing distance from the front end thereof or decreasing distance tothe rear end thereof. In this case, when the antenna is placed on therear portion of the sidewall, sufficient distance between the antennaand the grille may be attained.

In the hub of the present disclosure, the upper surface of the hub, onwhich the interface screen is displayed, is inclined relative to thehorizontal plane. As such, compared to the horizontal upper surface, theangle between the upper surface and the user's eyes, located in front ofthe hub, may be increased, which may minimize the distortion of thescreen as experienced by the user. In addition, the horizontal crosssection of the grille may have a shape acquired by orthogonallyprojecting the inclined upper surface on the horizontal plane. As such,when viewed from the top side, the entire hub may have a unifiedcylindrical external appearance.

In addition, when the grille has an elliptical horizontalcross-sectional shape, the left-to-right length of which is longer thanthe front-to-rear length, the area through which sound output from thespeaker inside the grille is emitted forward may be increased comparedto the case where the grille has a fixed circular horizontal crosssection. In addition, when the base has an elliptical lower surface, theleft-to-right length of which is longer than the front-to-rear length,it is possible to prevent the hub from easily falling due to theapplication of an external force thereto in the left-to-right direction.

In the hub of the present disclosure, the grille is processed in such amanner that first through-holes and second through-holes, which have asmaller diameter than the first through-holes, form successivelyrepeated patterns in all directions. This may increase the area throughwhich sound output from the speaker inside the grille is emitted,resulting in improved sound quality.

In addition, the grille may achieve sufficient rigidity despite a greatnumber of through-holes formed therein. In addition, the upper and lowerends of the grille which are respectively coupled to the cover and thebase, are not provided with the through-holes, thus achieving firmcoupling with the cover and the base.

The hub of the present disclosure may dissipate heat generated fromvarious electric elements, such as a control unit (or controller), via aradiator. In addition, in order to prevent vibrations output from thespeaker, which is provided in the main body, from being directlytransferred to the base, a space is provided between the main body andthe base. When the main PCB and the radiator are installed in the space,the amount of a dead space may be reduced and the space may serve todissipate heat from the radiator. In addition, when a flat portion ofthe radiator is spaced apart from the lower surface of the main body, itis possible to prevent vibrations output from the speaker from beingtransferred to the flat portion, and consequently, to reduce vibrationsof the radiator and noise caused thereby.

The hub of the present disclosure may not easily fall backward due tofriction between a support rubber and the supporting surface on whichthe hub is placed. In addition, even if the hub is placed on a wetsurface, the base body is spaced apart from the wet surface by thesupport rubber, thereby preventing the base body from becoming wet.

In addition, because an adaptor provided at the end of a power cord isaccommodated in a recess formed in the bottom of the hub, it is possibleto prevent the adaptor from cluttering the area around the hub. Inaddition, when a power cord fixing recess is formed in the base body,even if the power cord is pulled by an unnecessary external force orwhen the hub is lifted by the user, the tensile force is distributed,which prevents the power cord from being easily separated.

A method of manufacturing the hub of the present disclosure does notrequire a step of providing the grille with a fixed shape and simplifiesthe manufacturing process because the upper and lower ends of the grillehave indeterminate forms in the state in which both ends of a flat metalpanel are rolled into a cylindrical form, or because the upper and lowerends attain a fixed shape in the process of assembling the grille withthe cover housing and the main body. In addition, a cylindrical grillethat includes the upper end provided with a circular opening that fallsin a plane inclined at a predetermined angle relative to the horizontalplane, and an elliptical lower end having a shape acquired byorthogonally projecting the upper end to the horizontal plane, may beeasily realized.

The present disclosure provides a hub (or a sound output apparatus),which displays a screen for outputting information received from ortransmitted to surrounding devices via a communication module, whichwirelessly communicates with the appliances. In particular, the objectaims to provide an interface screen that may allow a user to easilyrecognize information, which is received from and/or transmitted toother IoT devices, and that may control the appliance with the IoTdevice. The present disclosure may further provide a hub which providesthe interface at a position that is optimized in consideration ofvisibility.

The present disclosure also provides a hub which minimizes exposure ofcouplings between components as possible as it can. In particular, thecouplings are hidden by a cylindrical grille. The present disclosurealso provides a hub in which a main body provided with a speaker isplaced within a cylindrical grille a cover is coupled to the top of thegrille and a base is coupled to the bottom of the grille therebyachieving a unified external appearance defined by those components.

The present disclosure additionally provides a hub in which the grilleis fixed without using fastening members, such as bolts, when the grilleis formed of a metal material. The present disclosure further provides ahub which includes a cylindrical metal grille whose shape is modifiedusing plasticity of a metal material in the process of coupling thegrille to the cover and/or the base.

The present disclosure provides a hub in which a main PCB is placedbetween a base and a main body. The present disclosure also provides ahub which is capable of communicating with an accessory via acommunication module, to set the function of the accessory, and tomanage a home network based on information received from the accessory.The present disclosure further provides a hub which is capable ofmanaging an electronic appliance by, for example, sensing the state ofthe electronic appliance or controlling the operation of the electronicappliance using the function provided by an accessory, which is separatefrom the electronic appliance, via communication with the accessory.

The present disclosure also provides a hub in which the upper surface ofa cover, on which information of a display is displayed, has a circularshape and is inclined at a predetermined angle relative to thehorizontal plane, and in which the upper end of a grille and the cover,on which the display is installed, define a continuous curvilinearcontour when the upper end of the grille is coupled to the cover. Thepresent disclosure further provides a hub in which a display foroutputting an interface screen and a window for showing the screen ofthe display are installed on a cover coupled to the top of a main body,wherein a user is able to manipulate the interface by pushing thewindow.

The main body is provided with a communication module for wirelesslycommunicating with surrounding devices, and the interface screendisplays information received from and transmitted to the surroundingdevices via the communication module. In this way, the object aims toprovide a hub which may allow the user to easily check informationtransmitted to and received from various appliances, such as appliancesin the Internet of Things, which has recently received attention, viamutual communication, and which may allow the user to control theappliances by manipulating the interface via a simplified motion ofpushing preset portions of the window.

The present disclosure further provides a hub, in which a display PCB,on which a display is mounted, is provided in a cover and at least onecontact switch used for various purposes, for example manipulation of aninterface displayed on a screen and manipulation of playback of aspeaker, is arranged on the display PCB, and in which a window supportplate for supporting a window is placed inside the cover, and the windowsupport plate operates the contact switch responsive to a pressureapplied on the window support plate through the window.

The window support may include a window support plate provided with anopening and arranged on an upper surface of the window support plate.The window support plate is supported by a plurality of support bossesand is provided on the lower surface thereof with manipulationprotrusions at positions corresponding to the respective contactswitches, whereby the window support plate is bent about the portionthereof supported by the support bosses when a given portion of thewindow is pressed, causing the manipulation protrusions to press thecontact switches. In this structure, a user will operate the contactswitches by selectively pushing four areas on the window correspondingrespectively to the contact switches. That is, the window functions as abutton for operating the contact switches, and the configuration of thehub of the present disclosure helps to ensure that all of the four areasaccurately performs the function described above.

The present disclosure further provides a hub, in which a window supportplate is provided with support bosses at appropriate positions so thatareas on the window support plate (each area being provided with amanipulation protrusion), corresponding respectively to the contactswitches, may be smoothly bent about the support bosses.

The present disclosure also provides a hub, in which a window supportplate is centrally provided with an opening for allowing a displayscreen to be seen from the top side, and in which a display panelnormally has a rectangular shape having a horizontal length longer thana vertical length thereof and is horizontally arranged along theleft-to-right direction of the sound output apparatus. The opening inthe window support plate also has a shape corresponding to the shape ofthe display panel so that the horizontal length (or the left-to-rightlength) thereof is longer than the vertical length (or the front-to-rearlength) thereof. In this case, manipulation protrusions are provided onfront and rear areas and left and right areas of the window supportplate about the opening. Because the opening has a left-to-right lengthlonger than a front-to-rear length thereof, among the four areas of thewindow support plate, the front and rear areas have different widthsfrom the left and right areas, which causes the distances between thesupport bosses and the manipulation protrusions to be different in therespective areas depending on the area in which the support bosses areformed. Therefore, the hub of the present disclosure eliminates thisdifference.

The present disclosure still further provides a hub including a display,which displays an interface screen based on information transmitted toand received from surrounding devices via a communication modulewirelessly communicating with the surrounding devices, and a windowwhich allows the interface screen to be seen from the outside, thewindow constituting the upper surface of the hub. Here, the window islocated in an open region of the upper surface of a cover housing, whichconstitutes the top of the hub.

The hub of the present disclosure achieves a more consistent distancebetween the inner surface of the cover housing, which defines the openregion, and the side surface of the window when the window is inclinedrelative to the horizontal plane in consideration of the user's eyesupon the window. The present disclosure further designs the shape of acover housing so that a mold, which is used to form the outer shape ofthe cover housing, and a mold, which forms a portion of the innersurface of the cover housing that defines a window installation region,may be discharged in different directions.

The present disclosure also provides a hub which allows a display panelto remain at a fixed position even if the hub is moved or externalshocks are applied to hub. The present disclosure also provides a hubwhich may maintain a display disposed on a display PCB so as to preventshaking thereof using a structure (partition) for supporting the displayPCB. The present disclosure further provides a hub, which may accuratelyindicate the position at which a display panel will be installed, and inparticular, to provide a hub in which the display panel is located at aposition corresponding to an opening or a transparent portion when awindow or a window support is located above the display panel and theposition of the display panel is reliably maintained.

The present disclosure also provides a hub in which a window, on which adisplay panel screen is projected, includes a predetermined transparentportion for showing an interface screen, and in which the remainingportion of the window may be colored or provided with a film attachedthereto. In this case, the object aims to install the display panel atthe correct position so that the screen is accurately located at a fixedposition within the transparent portion.

The present disclosure still further provides a hub in which a main bodyprovided with a speaker is placed within a cylindrical metal grillehaving therein a plurality of through-holes and a communication module,which wirelessly communicates with surrounding devices, is placed in themain body without the risk of signal interference or interception by thegrille. The present disclosure also identifies an appropriate positionat which an antenna connected to a communication module may be attachedto the exterior of a grille. The present disclosure provides a hub,which prevents a display PCB from impeding the signaltransmission/reception performance of an antenna. The present disclosurefurther provides hub, in which the upper surface thereof, on which aninterface screen is displayed, and the user's eyes in front of the hubform an angle close to a right angle, which may minimize distortion ofthe screen.

The present disclosure also provides a hub which has a unifiedcylindrical external appearance when a circular window, whichconstitutes the upper surface of the hub, is inclined relative to thehorizontal plane. The present disclosure configures a grille to have anappropriate shape so as to provide a hub with a unified externalappearance.

The present disclosure provides a hub, in which a speaker is placedwithin a grille having therein a plurality of through-holes for theemission of sound, and the area of a front surface portion of the grille(i.e. the area of the grille that is seen from the front side) may beincreased in order to increase the proportion o sound, output from thespeaker, that is emitted forward from the hub.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure prevent a hub placed on ashelf, which is installed on the wall located behind the hub, fromfalling when an external force is applied to the left or right sidesurface thereof, although the wall prevents the hub from fallingbackward or falling from the shelf even if it is pushed rearward.Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a grille havingtherein a great number of through-holes in consideration of a speakermounted on a main body placed within the cylindrical grille.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure find the pattern ofarrangement of a great number of through-holes formed in a grille so asto achieve a desired rigidity of the grille. Certain aspects of thepresent disclosure provide a hub in which a grille has a specified areain which through-holes are formed, such that the upper end and lower endof the grille which are respectively coupled to a cover and a base, havesufficient rigidity.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a hub, which includesa radiator for dissipating heat generated from various electricelements, such as a control unit (or a controller). Certain aspects ofthe present disclosure provide a hub in which a main PCB and a radiatorfor dissipating heat from the main PCB are arranged in the space betweena main body and a base.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a hub, which preventsvibrations output from a speaker provided in a main body from beingtransferred to a radiator. Certain aspects of the present disclosureprovide a hub, which has no risk of falling owing to increased frictionbetween the surface on which the hub is placed and the hub.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a hub, in which a basebody constituting a base, which supports a main body, has no risk ofbecoming wet even if the hub is placed on a wet surface. Certain aspectsof the present disclosure provide a hub, in which a space foraccommodating an adaptor at the end of a power cord is defined in thebottom of the hub. Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide ahub, which may prevent a power cord from being easily separatedtherefrom.

The present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a sound outputapparatus including a cylindrical metal grille having a plurality ofthrough-holes, a main body placed within the grille and having aspeaker, a cover coupled to the top of the main body and configured todisplay an interface screen on the upper surface thereof, and a basearranged below the main body to support the main body, and inparticular, to provide a manufacturing method for allowing thecylindrical grille the circular upper end of which falls in a plane thatis inclined at a predetermined angle relative to the horizontal plane,to be smoothly deformed in the manufacturing process due to thecharacteristic of a metal material thereof, thereby having a fixedelliptical cross-sectional shape.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method ofmanufacturing the grille. In particular, the grille has a shape in whichthe upper end of the grille falls in a plane that is inclined at apredetermined angle relative to the horizontal plane and the upper endis orthogonally projected on the horizontal plane. Providing a method ofeasily forming the grille in such a shape is achieved in the presentdisclosure.

In the present disclosure, a hub (or a sound output apparatus) includesa communication module arranged in a main body thereof, wherein the hubwirelessly communicates via the communication module with a surroundingdevice (for example, a Internet of Thing (IoT) device having a sensor)and a screen is displayed on the upper surface of the hub based oninformation exchanged via the communication module. The main body mayinclude a speaker so that the hub functions as a sound output means. Toallow sound, output from the speaker, to be discharged, the main bodymay be arranged in a cylindrical grille having a plurality ofthrough-holes formed therein, and the grille may have an upper end ofcoupled to a cover, which displays the screen, and a lower end coupledto a base.

The coupling of the grille and the cover may be realized without usingseparate fastening members, such as bolts, but is realized in such amanner that an rib-type upper-end holding portion, which is formed inthe base, is inserted (or fitted) into an opening formed in the upperend of the grille. The coupling of the grille and the base is realizedin a manner that a rib-type lower-end holding portion, which is formedin the base, is inserted into an opening defined by the lower end of thegrille.

The grille may be formed by processing a metal panel. The upper-endholding portion and the lower-end holding portion may come into closecontact with the inner surface of the grille and thus, the upper end ofthe grille of the metal panel is deformed to correspond to the shape ofthe upper-end holding portion, and the lower end of the grille isdeformed to correspond to the shape of the lower-end holding portion.That is, each of the upper-end holding portion and the lower-end holdingportion may be formed in an appropriate shape to thereby form the grillein a desired shape, and, in this manner, the grille may is maintainedwith a cylindrical cross section.

The cover may be coupled to the main body, and include a cover housinghaving an opening, the cover housing is formed on the upper surface ofthe cover, and a display for showing the interface screen may bearranged in the cover housing. In addition, a transparent window isarranged in the opening so that the interface screen is visible throughthe window.

The window is a transparent plate processed into a circular shape, andthe window is inclined upward from a front side to a rear side thereof,and a vector, acquired by orthogonally projecting a normal vector of anupper surface of the window on a horizontal plane, directs forward. Thatis, when the window is seen from the side surface, only the side surfacedefining the thickness of the window is seen, and the upper end of theside surface is located at front of the hub, while the rear end of theside surface is located at rear of the hub.

The upper surface of the window falls in the same plane as the upper endof the cover housing, and thus, the upper surface of the hub has aunified external appearance. The window may be formed in a circularshape, and in this case, the shape of the window orthogonally projectedon the horizontal plane is an ellipse having a short radius in thefront-to-rear direction. In particular, when the window is in a circularshape, the shape of the window orthogonally projected on the horizontalplane is an ellipse having a short radius in the front-to-rear directionand a long radius in the left-to-right direction. Thus, to achieve thehub having a unitized external appearance, the grille needs to have anelliptical shape corresponding to the elliptical window. The shape ofthe grille may be achieved by forming the upper-end holding portion andthe lower-end holding portion in an elliptical shape.

The cover housing may include a display PCB arranged below the displayto support the display. Contact switches for manipulating the interfacesare arranged on the upper surface of the display PCB, and the contactswitches are symmetrically arranged in front, rear, left, and rightareas. The cover housing may further include a window support arrangedbelow the window to support the window. Apart from supporting thewindow, the window support function as a button for selectivelyoperating the contact switches. Specifically, the window support mayinclude: a window support, which is arranged above the display tosupport the window and has an opening for exposing a screen of thedisplay, and a support boss, which protrudes downward from the windowsupport and is coupled to the cover housing.

The window support is in close contact with the window, and, once anarea of the window corresponding to the contact switch is pressed, thewindow support plate is slightly bent about the support boss so that aprotrusion which protrudes downward from the window support plateoperates a contact switch at a corresponding location.

The cover housing may include a cylindrical sidewall, and the inside ofthe sidewall is divided by a partition into upper and lower regions. Inaddition, the partition may include an insertion boss into which asupport boss protruding from the window support plate is inserted. Thewindow support plate may include an opening formed thereon, the openingwhich exposes a screen of the display provided below the window support.To correspond to a shape of a general display panel, the opening of thewindow support plate may be formed in a manner that a length of afront-to-rear direction is longer than a length of a left-to-rightdirection. In this case, the support boss may be formed in an area infront of the opening of the window support plate, and in an area at rearof the opening of the window support plate.

The main body may include a speaker case for accommodating the speakertherein, and the speaker case may be coupled to the cover within thegrille. A plurality of fastening bosses extending in a horizontaldirection may be formed in the cover. The speaker case may have bossinsertion grooves which are indented forward and rearward. Each of theboss insertion grooves includes an opening on the upper surface of thespeaker so as to allow the fastening boss to be inserted from the above.The speaker case may be coupled to the base. The speaker case and thebase may be coupled within the grille. The speaker case and the base iscoupled in a manner that a fastening boss protrudes from the bottomsurface of the speaker case, and the base may include an insertion bossinto which the fastening boss is inserted.

A fastening hole communicating with the insertion boss may be formed onthe bottom surface of the base, and a bolt pass through the fasteninghole from the bottom of the base to thereby be coupled to the fasteningboss.

A main PCB may be arranged between the bottom of the speaker case andthe base body. The main PCB may include a controller which controlsvarious electronic devices, such as the speaker, the communicationmodule, and the display, and the main PCB may be circuit-connected tothe display panel. The display PCB may include a volume switch forincreasing and decreasing volume of the speaker, and a volume button foroperating the volume switch may be installed in the cover housing. Anopening may be formed on the sidewall of the cover housing, and thevolume button may be fixed in the opening. The base may include a basebody coupled to the fastening boss of the speaker case, and a supportrubber fixed onto a lower surface of the base body. The hub has acommunication module, which is arranged in the body having the speaker,and wirelessly communicates via the communication module with asurrounding device (for example, a IoT device having a sensor), and aninterface screen may be displayed on the upper surface of the hub basedon information exchanged via the communication module. The communicationmodule may include a WiFi® module, a Bluetooth® module, a Zigbee®module, a Z-wave® module, and the like. The WiFi® module and theBluetooth® module may be arranged on the rear surface of the speakercase, and, in particular, the WiFi® module and the Bluetooth® module maybe combined as one body to constitute an assembly that is detachablycoupled to the speaker. The Zigbee® communication module and/or theZ-wave® communication module may be arranged on the side surface of thespeaker.

The cover housing may be coupled to the top of the main body, and thedisplay for showing the interface screen may be arranged in the coverhousing. The cover housing may include a vertically extending sidewalland a partition that extends from the inside of the sidewall topartition the inside of the sidewall into upper and lower regions. Adisplay PCB may be arranged on the partition, and the display and fourcontact switches may be arranged on the upper surface of the displayPCB. In this case, the four contact switches may be respectivelyarranged in the front, rear, left, and right areas about the display.The contact switches may have various functions, such as manipulatingthe interface screen.

A window support may be arranged in the cover housing and may have anopening for exposing the interface screen, the opening which has alength of a left-to-right direction is longer than a length of afront-to-rear direction. Specifically, the window support may include:manipulation protrusions protruding downward from the window supportplate at positions corresponding to the four contact switches,respectively, and operating the corresponding contact switchesresponsive to a pressure applied on the window support plate through thewindow; and a plurality of support bosses protruding downward from thewindow support plate and coupled to the cover housing so that the windowsupport plate is spaced apart from the display PCB.

As the opening in the window support plate has a longer left-to-rightlength than a front-to-rear length, the window support plate may have anarea at a left or right side of the opening is smaller than an area at afront or rear side of the opening, and the difference in the size of theareas may be significant when the window support plate is substantiallycircular. Thus, when the support bosses are formed in a relatively smallarea, a distance between a manipulation protrusion and a support boss,which belong to the area, is reduced, and this means a short moment arm,which is a short distance between a force applied from the relativelysmall area to the window support plate and the support bass, and thus,it suggests that a greater force is required to operate contact switchesin the relatively small area. Therefore, the support bosses needs to beformed in an area at the front or rear side of the opening on the windowsupport plate.

In this case, however, manipulation protrusions formed in an area at theleft or right sides of the opening are sufficiently spaced apart fromthe support bosses, it is possible to smoothly operate the contactswitches. In contrary, manipulation protrusions formed in an area at thefront or rear side of the opening becomes relatively closer to thesupport bosses, and thus, a greater force needs to be applied to thearea at the front or rear side of the opening. Therefore, in order toeliminate this difference in manipulation of the areas, slits extendingin a left-to-right direction may be formed between the support bossesand the manipulation protrusions in areas at the front and rear side ofthe opening on the window support plate.

The opening of the cover housing is located on a plane that is at anaccurate angle relative to a horizontal plane. That is, a normal vectorwith respect to the plane is at an accurate angle relative to thehorizontal plane. Furthermore, a normal vector with respect to the planein which the opening falls is at an accurate angle relative to thehorizontal plane, and a vector acquired by orthogonally projecting thenormal vector on the horizontal plane faces forward. This structure maybe such that the lowest part of the opening is located at front of thehub, while the highest part of the opening is located at rear of thehub.

A portion of the inner surface of the cover housing, which is within apredetermined distance downward from an upper end defining the opening,is parallel with the normal vector, and the window is arranged in anarea of the inner surface of the cover housing, the area which isdefined by the portion being parallel with the normal vector.

The upper surface of the window is arranged to face a direction whichthe normal vector faces, and thus, even an area of the inner surface ofthe cover housing, which defines where the window is arranged, isparallel with the side surface of the window. In another aspect, theupper surface the window is parallel with a plane in which the openingof the cover housing falls, and, in other words, a normal vector withrespect to the upper surface of the window is at an accurate anglerelative to the horizontal plane, and a vector acquired by orthogonallyprojecting the normal vector on the horizontal plane faces forward.

A cover housing may be coupled to the top of the main body. The coverhousing may include a vertically extending sidewall and a partition thatextends from the inside of the sidewall to partition the inside of thesidewall into upper and lower regions. The display PCB may be arrangedin the partition, and the display panel may be arranged in the displayPCB. At least one rib may protrude upward from the partition, and therib may pass through between the display PCB and the sidewall to therebycome into contact with the periphery of the display panel.

The display PCB may include board arms extending forward, rearward,leftward, and right ward from the center thereof, and thus, regionsdivided by the four boss arms are defined. The rib may pass through theregion, divided by the four boss arms, to thereby come into contact withthe periphery of the display panel.

The main body is arranged in a cylindrical metal grille provided with aplurality of through-holes, so that sound output from the speaker isdischarged. A first communication module for wirelessly communicatingwith surrounding devise is arranged in the main body, and at least oneantenna connected to the first communication module is arranged in theexterior of the grille.

A cover housing is coupled to a top of the main body, and a displayPrinted Circuit Board (PCB) is arranged in the cover housing. On anupper surface of the display PCB, there may be arranged a display forshowing an interface screen configured based on information exchangedvia the first communication module.

The antenna may be arranged in the inner surface of the cover housing.The cover housing may be arranged above the grille and include a tubularsidewall that extends in a vertical direction and a partition extendingfrom an inner surface of the sidewall for dividing an inside of thesidewall into upper and lower regions. The display PCB may be arrangedon an upper surface of the partition. The appropriate position of theantenna may be on the inner surface of the sidewall. In particular, thesidewall may be gradually increased in height, measured from the upperend of the grille from a front side to a rear side thereof, and, in thiscase, the antenna is arranged on a rear portion of the sidewall so as tosecurer a sufficient distance between the antenna and the grille.

An opening is formed in an upper surface of the cover housing, and awindow is arranged in the opening. The opening falls in a first planethat is at a first angle relative to a horizontal plane. The coverhousing includes a cylindrical sidewall extending in a verticaldirection, the sidewall arranged above the grille and the opening is aregion surrounded by the upper end of the sidewall. The opening may bein a circular shape, and, in this case, a shape of the outercircumference of the opening, which is orthogonally projected on thehorizontal plane, has a short diameter in the same direction as a vectorobtained by orthogonally projecting a first normal vector upward fromthe first plane, and a long diameter in a direction orthogonal to thevector obtained by orthogonally projecting the first normal vectorupward from the first plane.

A horizontal cross section of the grille has a shape corresponding to ashape of the opening orthogonally projected on the horizontal plane, sowhen the grille is viewed from the front, the grille has a left-to-rightwidth greater than a grille having a circular horizontal cross section,and thus volume discharged forward in increased. The outer circumferenceof the upper end of the sidewall may be circular, and the horizontalcross section of the grille may correspond to a shape of the outercircumference orthogonally projected to the horizontal plane, and thus,when the hub is viewed from the top side, the cover housing and thegrille form a unified external appearance.

When the lowermost point and the uppermost point of the opening of thecover housing is orthogonally projected on the horizontal plane, theyare arranged in the same direction as a vector obtained by orthogonallyprojecting a normal vector, upward from the first plane, on thehorizontal plane. That is, when a vector obtained by orthogonallyprojecting the normal vector on the horizontal plane faces forward ofthe hub, even the opening of the cover housing is located on a planethat is inclined upward from a front side to a rear side. In this case,the window may be also arranged to be inclined in the same manner as theopening. The upper surface of the window may be located on a plane inwhich the opening falls.

This structure is such that the upper surface of the window, whichshowing a screen of the display, is arranged to face forward, an eyegaze of a user forward of the hub and the upper surface of the windowmay be at an angle greater than the case where the window ishorizontally arranged. The base has a lower surface having a shapecorresponding to the horizontal cross section of the cylindrical grilleand specifically, the lower surface is a elliptical shape having a longdiameter in the left-to-right direction and a short diameter in thefront-to-rear direction.

The through-holes formed in the grille may include first through-holesand second through-hole each having a diameter smaller than that of thefirst through-hole, and the pattern composed of the first through-holesand the second through-holes may be repeatedly arranged in alldirections. The all-directional successive pattern may increase the areathrough which sound output from the speakers is discharged by formingthe smaller-diameter second through-hole 20 h between thelarger-diameter first through-holes.

The main body may define a cavity for accommodating the speaker, aspeaker case having a communication module arranged in an outer surfacethereof, and a plurality of support bosses protruding downward from alower surface of the speaker case to support a radiator. A main PCBcircuit-connected to the communication module and the speaker may bearranged between the main body and the base, and the radiator may bearranged between the main PCB and a lower surface of the main body. Inparticular, because the speaker case defines a cavity, vibration causedby output of the speaker may be transferred to the lower surface of thespeaker case. Thus, in order to reduce vibration output from the speakerand transferred to the radiator, the radiator needs to be spaced apartfrom the lower surface of the main body.

In this aspect, the radiator includes a plurality of support tabs whichextends from a flat portion in which a plurality of supportthrough-holes are formed, the through-holes through which the supportbosses respectively pass, and the support tabs are coupled to thesupport bosses at a lower side of the flat portion, so that the flatportion is maintained at a position spaced apart from the lower surfaceof the speaker case.

For strong support of the hub, sufficient friction is required betweenthe base and a floor surface on which the hub is placed. To this end,the base may include a base body having a bottom provided with a rubberinsertion groove formed in a bottom surface of the base body, and asupport rubber inserted into the rubber insertion groove. The supportrubber may cause the base body to be spaced apart from the floorsurface, and, in this respect, the support rubber may include: a rubbermain body extending a long length to correspond to the rubber insertiongroove, and a plurality of support protrusions protruding from therubber main body to the outside of the rubber insertion groove.

In addition, the base body may include a recess for accommodating anadaptor, which receives power. The recess may include: an opening formedin the button surface of the base body; a recess side portion extendingupward from the periphery of the opening; and an upper surface extendinghorizontally from the recess side portion 316 a so as to face theopening.

A socket, into which an output terminal of a cord connected to theadaptor, may be provided in the recess side portion, and a cord-fixinggroove may be formed in the body base to prevent the output terminalfrom being separated from the socket.

Specifically, an outer opening may be formed in the base outer wallportion, and inner opening may be formed in the recess side portion, acord insertion hole may be formed in the lower surface of the basebottom portion so as to connect the inner opening and the outer openingto each other, and the cord-fixing groove may be indented from the cordinsertion hole to form a passage through which a power supplying cordpass between the outer opening and the inner opening.

The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a hubcomprising: a cylindrical metal grille provided with a plurality ofthrough-holes; a main body arranged in the grille and having a speaker;a cover coupled to a top of the main body and displaying an interfacescreen through the top; and a base arranged below the main body tosupport the main body. In particular, in a case where the main shape ofthe cylindrical grille is defined such that the grille has an upper end,which is formed by a circular opening on a plane inclined at apredetermined angle relative to the horizontal plane, and an ellipticallower end having a shape obtained by orthogonally projecting the upperend on a horizontal plane, the present disclosure relates to a method ofmanufacturing the grille to have the main shape.

Such a manufacturing method may include the following steps. Step (a):forming the grille having a plurality of through-holes therein byprocessing a flat metal panel so that the grille has an outer shapecorresponding to a development view of the main shape. This process isperformed using an etching processing by which unnecessary portion ofthe metal plate panel may be removed so that The metal plate isprocessed to have a shape corresponding to the development view of themain shape and to have through-holes formed thereon. An appropriatematerial of the metal panel may be stainless steel. The externalappearance of the metal panel may be processed such that two sides ofthe flat metal panel become straight lines extending orthogonally fromthe center of the rear surface of the grille.

The manufacturing process may include step (b): configuring thecylindrical grille by bonding opposite sides of the processed flat metalpanel so that a side of the panel corresponding to the upper end of themain shape forms an upper end of the grille and a side of the panelcorresponding to the lower end of the main shape forms a lower end ofthe grille the upper end and the lower end of the cylindrical grillehaving an indeterminate form acquired via deformation of the flat metalpanel.

The manufacturing process may include step (c): in the case where thecover is provided with the upper-end holding portion having a shapecorresponding to the upper end of the main shape and the base isprovided with the lower-end holding portion having a shape correspondingto the lower end of the main shape, imparting a fixed shape,corresponding to the upper-end holding portion formed on the cover, tothe upper end of the grille by inserting the upper-end holding portioninto an opening formed in an upper surface of the grille so that thecover and the grille are assembled. At this point, the upper end of thegrille is deformed to correspond to the shape of the upper-end holdingportion.

The manufacturing process may include step (d): imparting a fixed shape,corresponding to the lower-end holding portion formed on the base, tothe lower end of the grille by inserting the lower-end holding portioninto an opening formed in a lower surface of the grille.

The method of manufacturing a grille for a sound output apparatus mayinclude steps as follows. Step (a): forming the grille having aplurality of through-holes therein by processing a flat metal panel sothat the grille has an outer shape corresponding to a development viewof a cylinder having an upper end located in a plane that is inclined ata predetermined angle relative to a horizontal plane and a lower endhaving a shape acquired by orthogonally projecting the upper end on thehorizontal plane. Step (b): bonding opposite sides of the grille to eachother so as to configure a cylinder. Step (c): polishing a bondedportion of the two sides of the grille an outer surface of the cylinder.Step (d): polishing an entire region of the outer surface of thecylinder until a hairline is formed. Step (e): painting the cylinderprovided with the hairline.

The present disclosure provides a hub comprising: a main body includinga housing defining a cavity to receive a speaker that generates sound;communication circuitry coupled to the housing of the main body, thecommunication circuitry exchanging data with another device; a basecoupled to a lower surface of the housing of the main body; a coverincluding a cover housing, the cover housing including a lower surfacecoupled to a top of the housing of the main body, and an upper surfaceto receive a display panel to output visual content associated with thedata exchanged with the other device via the communication circuitry;and a grille having a surface defining a cylinder with a central cavity,an upper opening and a lower opening, the upper opening of the grillebeing coupled to the cover housing, the lower opening of the grill beingcoupled to the base, and the main body being positioned within thecentral cavity to be encapsulated by the base, the cover, and thegrille, the surface of the grille including a plurality of through-holesto pass the sound generated by the speaker.

The present disclosure also provides a hub comprising: a main bodyincluding communication circuitry that wirelessly exchanges data withanother device; a cover housing having a lower surface coupled to a topof the main body and an upper surface defining an opening; a displaypanel positioned in opening of the cover housing, the display panelgenerating a display; a window provided in the opening and over thedisplay panel; a window support provided between the window and thedisplay panel in the cover housing to support the window; and a displayprinted circuit board (PCB) provided under the display panel in thecover housing and having at least one contact switch; wherein thecontact switch is operated when an extension from the window support isdeformed by a pressure transferred through the window and contacts thecontact switch.

The present disclosure further provides a hub comprising: acommunication module to wirelessly communicate with another device; amain body on which the communication module is positioned; a coverhousing coupled to a top surface of the main body and having an uppersurface defining an opening; a display panel to generate a display on ascreen, the display panel being positioned in the cover housing; and awindow positioned in the opening to cover the screen, the window beinginclined with respect to a horizontal plane so that an upper surface ofthe window faces upwardly forward.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hub comprising: a main body including ahousing; communication circuitry coupled to the housing of the mainbody, the communication circuitry exchanging data with another device; abase coupled to a lower surface of the housing of the main body; a coverincluding a cover housing, the cover housing including a lower surfacecoupled to a top of the housing of the main body, and an upper surfaceto receive a display panel to output visual content associated with thedata exchanged with the other device via the communication circuitry;and a grille formed of an elastically deformable metal sheet, the grillehaving a surface defining a cylinder with a central cavity, an upperopening and a lower opening, the upper opening of the grille beingcoupled to the cover housing, the lower opening of the grille beingcoupled to the base, and the main body being positioned within thecentral cavity to be encapsulated by the base, the cover, and thegrille, wherein the cover housing further includes: a cylindricalsidewall extending in a vertical direction from the upper surface of thecover housing and positioned above the grille; an upper-end holdingextension protruding from the sidewall and inserted into the grille froma top side of the grille, the upper-end holding extension being insertedinto the upper opening of the grille to contact an inner surface at anupper end of the grille and to maintain a shape of the upper end of thegrille as an ellipse; and a first surface extending from an outersurface of the cylindrical sidewall to the upper-end holding extensionso as to be positioned opposite the upper end of the grille when theupper-end holding extension is inserted into the grille.
 2. The hubaccording to claim 1, wherein: the upper surface of the cover housingdefines an opening; the display panel is positioned in the opening ofthe cover housing.
 3. The hub according to claim 2, wherein a window ispositioned over the display panel and in the opening to cover thedisplay panel.
 4. The hub according to claim 3, wherein the uppersurface of the cover housing inclines the window and the display panelwith respect to a horizontal plane.
 5. The hub according to claim 4,wherein the window has a circular shape.
 6. The hub according to claim4, wherein the cover further includes: a display Printed Circuit Board(PCB) provided in the cover housing and having an upper surface on whichthe display panel is installed; and a window support provided below thewindow to support the window, wherein the window support includes: awindow support plate provided above the display panel to support thewindow and having an opening to expose the display panel; and at leastone support boss extending downward and away from the window supportplate and coupled to the cover housing.
 7. The hub according to claim 1,wherein a horizontal cross section of the grille is an ellipse.
 8. Thehub according to claim 1, wherein the cover housing includes at leastone fastening boss extending in a lateral direction from the upper-endholding extension and coupled to the main body.
 9. The hub according toclaim 8, wherein the main body includes at least one boss-insertionrecess for insertion of the at least one fastening boss.
 10. The hubaccording to claim 1, wherein the communication circuitry includes WiFi®circuitry and Bluetooth® circuitry, wherein the WiFi® circuitry and theBluetooth® circuitry are coupled to the main body, and wherein antennasfor the WiFi® circuitry and the Bluetooth® circuitry are positioned inthe cover above the grille.
 11. The hub according to claim 10, whereinthe communication circuitry includes a Zigbee® circuitry.